It never fails, every
Sunday morning the debate of the “best baseball team,” happens over
breakfast of imitation New York bagels... I live on the West coast after all and the bagels here try to be New York bagels, but they just aren't the same. The topics rarely change, the
names are always front and center, and we quote stats and other facts
like they are answers to some grand prize World Series Trivia game. My
dad and I have very different tastes when it comes to our sports teams
and it goes even further than just New York teams. In 2001 while I was
cheering for the Yankees, my dad was cheering for the Diamondbacks just
so my team would lose. To this day, he still talks about it. As
different as our tastes are, we do share one common interest.
I
didn’t grow up a Yankee fan. I can’t even tell you how or why I became
such a fan. I did not learn about the great Yankees from stories passed
down from my family. In fact, if family traditions are what inspire
people to become such dedicated fans then I SHOULD be a Mets fan. I have
an aunt, and countless cousins who are partial to orange and blue
rather than pinstripes.
I have childhood memories from the magical 1986
New York Mets team and I remember hearing about Darryl Strawberry,
Dwight Gooden, and Gary Carter. Sure, I didn’t understand just how great
they were but those names stuck with me and my dad sure did talk about
them a lot…..and he still does.
A favorite past time in my
house growing up was watching the “Let’s Go Mets” VHS tape that my dad
owned. I still remember the music in it and of course that theme song.
My dad recently found it tucked away in the house and burned it onto a DVD.
Of course, this has brought back old memories and fired up our own
“Subway Series” within the family and whoever wins this series will have
full bragging rights. As this series came closer, the phrase “Let’s Go,
Mets Go!” was heard constantly as he tried to taunt me. I want to win
this series so bad I cannot even begin to explain how high the stakes
are for me.
My dad and I talk about baseball a lot and so far
all I have heard this season is how the Mets have had a much better
start then the Yankees and how my team won’t make it this year because
my roster is too inconsistent. Oh, and my personal favorite is that the
Yankees won’t even make it to the post season this year. HA! Instead, he
thinks the New York team that will make it to the end will be his Mets.
I keep telling him that the Nationals are going to spoil that for him
but he just laughs at me. Surprisingly, there is one thing that we do
agree on….Andy Pettitte.
Although my dad and I share a love of
Andy, in his mind Andy is what will determine the Yankees success rate
this season. In fact, if you spend any time around us you will hear him
say, “I like Andy, but if the Yankees are going to win this year he will
have to carry the team on his back and win 20 games.” I have
confidence with or without Andy, but my dad looks at him like he is the
ace of the staff.
Surprisingly, my dad likes Andy so much that
I was able to convince him to come to a Yankee game with me in 2010
when they played the Diamondbacks at Chase field. One thing I have
always been thankful for is that my dad is always willing to watch the
Yankees with me, even though that is not his favorite team. If Andy was
not pitching then watching the Yankees beat his Diamondbacks probably
would have made the night more difficult to watch, but Andy always makes
everything better for us. I still hold on to the hope that someday I
can lure him to become a Yankee fan.
While the “Subway Series”
only comes twice a season, in my family we debate about these teams year
round. Sunday will be the last game for this series, and tomorrow
morning I anticipate a lot of trash talk at the breakfast table, but
this time I am ready for it. With Andy pitching, I hope this game will
be yet another memory that I can share with my dad. I guess in this
case, sometimes the apple DOES fall far from the tree. We may not follow
the same team dad, but at least we share a love for our home teams in
the Big Apple.
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