WHY MY "SUBWAY SERIES" NEVER ENDS

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.

--Jeana Bellezza --BYB Writer and Editor

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