Yankees or Mets; Knicks or Mets: The Preference of CSH
“I got a chance to talk to a few students and teachers to ask them about their preferred team. Today, we will find out which New York MLB and NBA teams some CSH students and staff prefer and why. Yankees or Mets; Knicks or Nets.”
In cities where you have multiple teams playing the same sport, like Los Angeles with the Lakers and Clippers, or New York with the Yankees and Mets for baseball, and the Knicks and Nets for basketball, a debate and commotion can spark amongst the fans of the sport. You may find yourself living in a time where people will attack you for preferring a team, a time where people will always prefer one over the other.
I got a chance to talk to a few students and teachers to ask them about their preferred team. Today, we will find out which New York MLB and NBA teams some CSH students and staff prefer and why. Yankees or Mets; Knicks or Nets.
Bronx vs Queens; Home of the Yankees, Home of the Mets
When MLB fans think of a New York team, they think of the New York Yankees. Only rarely do people mention the New York Mets. With the amount of talk the Yankees get and how much they’re brought up in baseball, this had me wondering, what makes the Yankees better than the Mets?
However, the narrative might be different for Mets fans, making it sound something like, what makes the Mets better than the Yankees?
Recently I spoke to Francisco Reyes and asked him, what makes the Yankees better than the Mets? He told me, “overall their history, they are known to have the most World Series wins of all time. In recent years they have been better than the Mets.”
He also told me about the fan culture. Francisco told me that, “It’s amazing, it's very passionate. When there’s Yankee games the 4 train is always packed. Cops are always there stopping fans because they are overcrowded. Some people don't watch baseball but are still Yankees fans. Overall the culture and the fans are a vibe. They can be very competitive and hostile when the Yankees lose”.
The City vs Brooklyn; Knicks vs Nets
The NBA season is back and people are looking at the Knicks after their trade with the Timberwolves, which included Karl-Anthony Towns and Donte DeVincenzo. Even before this big trade, the people of New York and NBA fans mostly talk about the New York Knicks. Now a question for you is, where are Nets in these types of conversation? Most of the time you don’t hear about the Nets because they are a smaller team, but a smaller team still has its fans. So now, what makes the Knicks better than the Nets? Or what makes the Nets better than the Knicks?
When I asked Rakeem Grace about the Knicks, he told me “The Knicks are more universal to New York as opposed to just being Brooklyn. It’s a team that all of New York resonates with. They have a better fan base than the Nets because it’s more genuine and it’s a smooth mirror of what the average New Yorker is.”
To add on, Rakeem also let me know that the fan culture is “ride or die. No matter how bad they bash out on their player, they will still trust the process”.
When speaking with Coach Ayala, he gave me a more personal reason as to why he prefers the Brooklyn Nets. He said “I have a personal relation to the Nets and Brooklyn because of my family. I grew up visiting that area and it was the first NBA game I went to. I also like rooting for the underdog, the Knicks have a prized history and the Nets are now making themselves a part of New York history. I also remember when the stadium was built and the excitement that surrounded the new franchise.”
Moreover, he also told me about the fan culture for the Brooklyn Nets. He stated that “The fan culture is dope. Brooklyn fans are very proud. Because the team represents a borough, it is a highlight that they have their own team. People from Brooklyn love the Nets.”
So, tell me: what do you think? Who is your team?