Take Me Out to the Ball Game

I gave birth to a Phillies fan but, the second time around, I married the Philly team’s biggest rival: a Mets Fan – whose son was a chip off the old block.

Their team allegiances weren’t something I focused on when analyzing the pros and cons of a union at that time, a move that would place 7 of us under one roof. I thought of other areas that could be tricky, but I viewed the 3 guys’ interest in sports as a unifying factor.

I soon realized that living with passionate fans of arch enemies could create a tense atmosphere, especially if their beloved teams were playing each other, one team advances, or whatever the case may be. That said, these guys were always very respectful of one another and there were no times I had to intervene. Yet, I still preferred to leave the house when Philly played New York, in any sport.

As empty nesters, David has had it easy with just me at home, as I am neither a vocal nor intense fan. I don’t bask in the glory of a win – aloud – and I don’t criticize the team or goad him after a Mets’ loss. Because of the wife in me, I have always been happy for him when the Mets advanced, although that is often accompanied by a twinge of guilt and sadness for my son if they’ve beaten the Phillies.

And because of the mother in me, I have always been thrilled for Michael to be in his glory with a Phillies win, and I’m disappointed for him when the Phillies lose because, to him, this team is family. I still have poems he wrote to me for my birthday or Mother’s Day that somehow always included his love for baseball, his favorite players at the time like Pat Burrell and Jim Thome, and the Phillies as an entity that gave him a sense of belonging and purpose.  

I overheard a recent conversation some time ago that David had with his sister, a serious Phillies fan for many years. She grew up in the same house he did and, like him, left home as a Mets fan but, unlike him, transferred her allegiance to the Phillies when she moved close to Philly so she could revel in the team spirit with her neighbors and friends.

Before the start of the World Series, she asked David why he couldn’t root for the Phillies once the Mets were out of the running. He responded that he could not start rooting for a team that he roots against all year long. He also said that Phillies fans would not root for the Mets fans, had the situation been reversed.

I took a brief survey of fans in my family to see what accounted for these differences, and my small sampling was divided along gender lines. I’m wondering if this opinion reflects one’s competitive nature, is a male/female kind of response, or something else?

I need to ask one of my girlfriends, a die-hard Phillies fan who spends hours listening to sports talk radio, this same question. She scolded me a couple of months ago for praising the Mets’ announcers, saying that Keith Hernandez is a jerk and that the Phillies’ commentators are far better.

Her comment, loyal to the Phillies through and through, might align more with the males I asked who said they would not root for a true rival under any circumstance, whereas the women I asked said they could, if their team is out of the running.

Frankly, given the length of the baseball season, which is followed by basketball, hockey and football, I’m glad I don’t have a strong feeling either way. It seems like rooting for these teams results in a whole lot of angst considering how rarely anyone’s team ends up on top.