As baseball season slowwwly ends (zzzzz) and football season picks up (yayy!), I’ve been seriously pondering this question: How do New Yorkers choose what team to root for?

I’ve known for awhile, thanks to my mother’s native New Yorker fiance, that in general, Jets fans are Mets fans and Giants fans are Yankees fans. Besides the fact that two of them rhyme, I could find no apparent reason why these teams go together, however. To get a better idea, I decided to ask some natives what their reasoning is for their choice in teams.

“Why are Jets fans generally Mets fans and Giants fans are generally Yankees fans?” Unfortunately, I got a lot of raised shoulders and “I dunno’s”. Some people told me simply: “Because that’s how it is.” Others told me it was the way they were raised; their families determined their teams. I couldn’t help but think there was more of a reason, however.

Most states don’t have this quandary; they have one team to root for in each sport. In Pennsylvania, where there’s more than one team in some sports, it’s still easy. In football, everyone in eastern PA is an Eagles fan; those in the west root for the Steelers. If you live in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, or Maine, you really don’t have a choice: it’s simply, yeah Pats!

New York, however, is a different story. It doesn’t make sense for geography to determine the fan base, as one baseball team plays in Queens, the other in the Bronx, and both football teams in the Meadowlands. Since actual fans weren’t providing me with enough of an explanation, I turned to the Internet. When googling a plethora of phrases didn’t pan out, I turned to ask.com. (Total gasp! when Google doesn’t provide me with an answer the first time around, I know.) When the former Jeeves did not provide me with any content either, I went back to Google and simply typed: why are mets fans jets fans. Duh! Not only did I get a geography and history lesson, I found the answer to my question.

Thanks to The Musings and Prophecies of Metstradamus, I learned that from 1964-1984 (fabulous years as my mom and I were born in each) the Jets were “renters” of Shea Stadium. For the first six games of their schedule, the Jets would play on the road as to not tear up the field for the Mets. This continued until Jets owner, Leon Hass, finally broke down and decided to move on to bigger and better things. After signing a deal with the Giants, the Jets officially tied themselves to the Meadowlands.

So, originally the correlation between the Jets and Mets was geographical, as they shared a stadium. Although the geographical element no longer exists, it seems that tradition will always tie the Jets and the Mets together. 

UPDATE: I also discovered that the same was true for the Giants and Yankees - they both played in the same stadium. You’d think more fans would be aware of this fact…

 Alas, as a native Philadelphian, I have to end this post with two words: Go Birds!

sports | 1 Comment »

Ok, so let me start off by saying that I always sit in a specific area on the crosstown bus. I don’t know why, but I migrate toward the middle section where the four seats face inward. It’s that part that has the accordian flaps that seem to disconnect you from the rest of the bus when it makes a turn.

 Anyways, yesterday I sat across from this woman who was wearing a skirt and knee highs. I know, it doesn’t necessarily sound like a problem, but since her legs were on the large side, they were more like mid-calf highs. And, when she sat down, her skirt rode up a few inches, displaying her lovely beige stockings and bare knees.

Like everyone, I have a few pet peeves, and serious fashion faux pas are one of them. Unfortunately, fashion faux pas are like bad car accidents - you can’t stop staring at them. I tried to adjust my line of view, though, (my next best option was to watch a woman knitting furiously) and mentally wished her good luck on her next outfit choice. 

Today on the bus, I headed for my usual spot. I sat in the same seat as last night and who’s sitting across from me? Knee-High Lady! Tonight, for my viewing pleasure, she was wearing a black and white skirt and black fishnets that again stopped at her calves. Once I convinced myself that this wasn’t a serious case of deja vu, just a really freaky coincidence, I realized that she clearly does not own a mirror and therefore, has no idea what she looks like. 

I made myself stop looking because I was starting to get annoyed with her again. I turned my head to the left to look out the window across from me and who do I see? Knitting Lady! In the same seat! Knitting furiously again! I thought I was being punk’d. I’m pretty sure The Twilight Zone music started playing in the background.

“You are freakin’ out, MAN.”

mta | No Comments »

 According to Page Six today:

 August 22, 2007 — HARVEY Weinstein - the P.T. Barnum of the movie industry - is hyping his version of “The Nanny Diaries” by offering a $100,000 reward to anyone who can identify the bitchy, shopaholic Upper East Side mom (played by Laura Linney) who inspired the authors of the best-selling roman a clef. Manhattan’s upper crust is buzzing over the identity of Mrs. X, who ignores her child and terrorizes the nanny (played by Scarlett Johansson). While the authors refuse to divulge any information, one suspect is Lisa Birnbach, co-author of “The Preppy Handbook,” who once employed one of the writers. At a recent screening of the movie, which opens Friday, Weinstein was overheard promising a few well-connected but tight-lipped socialites $100,000 for any information that would lead to Mrs. X’s unveiling. Source

LOL you know someone is going to dime her ass out in a second. (Even though 100 grand is chump change to these women.) What a fabulously evil way to promote a movie!

celebrities, movies, news | 1 Comment »