In the sports world, the New York / Boston rivalry is widely known, and in the aftermath of our most recent Superbowl and with the upcoming baseball season upon us, it will continue to be discussed in the coming months as much as ever. In the media narrative about this rivalry – especially regarding baseball – New York represents the cocky Goliath who draws players from all over the world to the bright lights and big city, while Boston represents the team of the scrappy home-grown working man. The truth of the rivalry is that because the two cities are so near each other, the teams in each town always play in the same division. That means they play each other more often, and have for years. More meetings means more memorable moments, more historical grudges, and the contemptuous familiarity of the Hatfields and McCoys, the Bloods and the Crips, the Montagues and the Capulets, the Sharks and the Jets (I know I know, West Side Story is just an adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, they were just the only rivals I could think of – GET OFF MY BACK!). In those stories, the moral is always that they’re not so different after all – and in the case of the actual sports organizations, they’re not. But what I never realized before recently is how that narrative is reflected in the nature of these two fan bases and helps explain the cultures of these regions.
I moved from New York to Eliot, Maine in October of 2010. Because I root for the Mets (not Boston’s prime baseball rival – despite this), the Giants (not New England’s prime football rival, despite this and this), and the Knicks (not the Celtics prime basketball rival … because they stink), I didn’t come here with the feeling that I was moving into enemy territory (like I would if I had moved to Phila-stupid-delphia). I did know, however, that I was moving to a place with rabid sports fans, where even the casual moms and pops pull hard for their guys (though I did notice a sudden swell in Bruins fandom about three weeks before they won the cup last year, and most diehard Red Sox fans will describe a similar pattern – the “pink hat” phenomenon – when that team’s bandwagon overflowed during its historic championship run in 2004). But the devotion of their fans wasn’t completely foreign – New York sports fans are some of the craziest, most intense fans in the world too. Both cities even have multiple huge media outlets dedicated entirely to talking about sports. But since moving here and getting to see New England fandom in person, I’ve recognized a more subtle difference in the way these fan bases interact emotionally with the teams and their sports.
I’m a member of a Facebook group called SportsForum, made up of an extremely diverse group of passionate, thoughtful sports fans mostly based in New York. There are people like me who root for the Giants and Mets, people who root for the Yankees and Jets, and people who follow the more common Mets/Jets & Yankees/Giants pairings (which date back to the days when the football teams played in those baseball teams’ stadiums). Most of us root for the Knicks and a few root for random other NBA teams – as far as I know no one roots for the Nets, even though they’re right across the river and about to move into this monstrosity in Brooklyn. A few chime in on boxing, MMA, soccer, tennis, hockey and even golf. As diverse as their sports interests and team alliances are, so are their backgrounds, spanning the spectrum of ethnicity, socioeconomic standing, employment, relationship status, etc. (though truth be told, there’s only one or two women who actively participate, and to my knowledge there’s no openly gay members, but I try to be the enforcer when people break the Grant Hill rules). What they all have in common is a thirst for knowledge. They are passionate about their teams, but seem to know everything about the rest of the teams in the league too. Perhaps stemming from the Yankees (and to a degree the Mets and Jets) penchant for active pursuit of almost all high-profile free agents, they have a deep interest in knowing which players in each league “have game.” There’s a feeling, across sports, that the great ones always raise their game on the biggest stage, whether they’re on the home team or visiting – and New York is unquestionably that stage. In my opinion, SportsForum pretty accurately represents the New York sports fan – they love their team and want them to succeed, but they also have a finger on the pulse of what’s happening elsewhere (especially Mets fans, who often have nothing left to root for by Memorial Day). We always have an eye out for the great ones so we can make them our own, whether they end up wearing our team’s jersey or not.
Last night I went to Mojo’s in Portsmouth, NH, a BBQ joint and sports bar with 10+ TVs that always show sports – usually the local teams (Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins). On this particular occasion I wanted to watch the nationally televised NBA game between the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder – two of the best three teams in the league, playing in what may well be a Championship preview. I asked the bartender to put on ESPN. She switched to the Bruins game and said “this one?” I said no, ESPN … for basketball. She looked over at another TV that had the Celtics game on as if to say “the basketball game’s already on,” but dutifully cruised the channel guide to ESPN. When she got to it she incredulously said “Oklahoma City vs. Miami??” I said yes, giving myself away as an outsider (even though I own a home two towns over, have lived there over a year, and eat wings at Mojo’s like it’s my freaking job). Now, I don’t mean to say that this bartender accurately represents the sports IQ of the region – but if nothing else it paints a pretty clear picture of how rarely anyone asks to see out of town games (even when they’re nationally televised … it’s not like I was asking for the satellite feed from Oklahoma) – all she knew was that those were two far-away cities that aren’t here.
Back in January I was invited to a friend’s house to watch the Pats’ playoff game against the Denver Tebows. It was kind of a big invitation for me, because I’d come over to watch another Pats game the previous season, rooted against them, and they’d subsequently lost. I hadn’t been invited to any more games after that for more than a year, so I could tell they saw me as a maloik (or maybe just a boner-kill for their fandemonium). At any rate, this time around I promised I wouldn’t root against the Pats, and even brought a gigantic whoopie pie (a New England dessert delicacy that’s pretty much just a big one of these) that said “Big Whoop, It’s Just the Broncos” as a peace offering.
I was also told that everyone at this party would be asked to share their favorite Patriots player from the 80s or 90s. As a Giants fan, I didn’t have much to offer, so I decided instead to tell a story about one of my favorite players of the 80s/90s and relate it to their team.
“Before Tom Brady replaced Drew Bledsoe and rose from obscurity to glory under head coach Bill Belichick, the 1989-90 Giants lost their franchise quarterback, Phil Simms, who went down with a season-ending injury. The team was forced to play behind back-up QB Jeff Hostettler, who prior to that had played at wide receiver and on special teams just to stay on the team’s roster. The team rallied behind Hostettler, and thanks to his composure and leadership, in addition to the brilliant scheming of Defensive Coordinator BILL BELICHICK, the team won the SuperBowl. Hooray!”
They weren’t amused. Even when talking about the same situation that happened to their team, under the same coach who they now love, they didn’t care. It was the Pats or nothing. That’s how the fan are in New England: they know everything about every player on each of their teams – everyone in their minor league system, every benchwarmer from 1996, the 4th receiver and backup Right Tackle – but aside from the top national figures, they don’t seem to know or care very much about any other teams or their players. I think that is, in large part, a reflection on their culture. People who live in New England are mostly from New England – their population is extremely homogeneous, the families stay in the same area for generations, and everyone roots for the same teams. To make it in New England is to stick around and be known to the people in your community. Those are YOUR PEOPLE. As fans, they look for the same qualities. They love scrappy underdogs who climb the ranks through hard work (Dustin Pedroia, Wes Welker, Danny Woodhead, young Tom Brady, Larry Bird), determination, a “do anything to help the team win” mentality (exemplified by multi-position players like Julian Edelman and Kevin Youkilis), and loyalty.
p.s. – I know I named all white players there, and I thought about getting into it from that angle, but they really do love David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and other non-white athletes too.
In New York, the culture is completely different. Diversity is the status quo, and most of the people you meet come from somewhere else (either inside or outside of the country). You don’t expect to know anyone – and if you do run into someone you know on the street it’s shocking. It’s one of the only cities in the world that people from all over the globe migrate to, and everyone there gains access to cultures different than their own. That’s WHY they go there. In many ways it parallels their view of sports superstars – the best and brightest in the art, music, theater, advertising, and financial world are expected to give it a go there, because to really “make it” means doing so in New York.
It’s clear to me in writing this that I’m still a New Yorker at heart – probably more so in my sports fandom than in any other way. But I do love it here in New England. I don’t know if I’ll ever be seen as a local, or if I’ll ever totally feel like one – but if I can find a way to maintain my New York thirst for knowledge and openness to people unlike me while being as good a neighbor, as loyal a friend, and as hard a worker as the people around me, that would be a good place to be.
Strongly Weekly 