'They are both good': Mets and Yankees fans come together to root for NYC
QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11)— It’s been 18 years since the Mets and Yankees played on the same day and at close to the same time in the postseason. For baseball fans, on Saturday evening at Katch Astoria sports bar, there were divided loyalties.
The birthday bash for 36-year-old Edwin Rojas was the only joyous, noisy Met fan table at Katch Astoria for the first eight innings when the Mets trailed the Phillies 1 - 0.
But Met superfan Rafael Rodriguez wasn’t worried.
“We’re an end of the game type of team,” Rodriguez told PIX11 News. “When the pressure is on, that’s when we perform the best,” he added.
And then, happily, pandemonium broke out with five runs in the eighth inning.
The co-owners of Katch Astoria are used to dressing up to support both teams, although their hearts really root for just one.
“Cause we’re in the heart of Queens, and Queens’ heart is with the Mets, they love them,” Roseann McSorley, co-owner of Katch Astoria, told PIX11 News. “And they are so happy where they are right,” she added.
Her husband, Bill McSorley, added, " We love all sports fans. Whatever people want, we root for them. "
There’s been more than a little animosity between Yankees and Mets fans for decades, but at least on this night and in this place, a truce.
“Yankee fans are more confident Mets fans have an inferiority complex,” Harry Thomatos, a Yankee fan, told PIX11 News. “But now that they have a billionaire older owner so they can’t tell us we’re the rich team anymore. They are both good for the city,” he added.
Two Queens friends, Dina Conte, and Kathleen Jordan, added, " When the Mets are winning, we root for the Mets, but if they’re not, we’ll root for the Yankees and will always root for New York City.”
Next Wednesday will be the next time the Yankees and Mets will play.