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The New York MLB rivalries, past and present, are legendary:
Giants vs. Dodgers
Yankees vs. Giants
Yankees vs. Dodgers
Yankees vs. Mets
Yankees vs. Red Sox
But in today's NY Times, there was an article about how depressing this World Series is for Met fans. Who are they to cheer for or even want to see when when its Yankees vs. Phillies.
Now I know Mets vs. Phillies does not compare with the above, but it appears to be a rivalry that NYC cares about. Will it get more so and possibly be considered like the ones above. Philly is the closest MLB city to NY, not Boston. Tradition isn't there the same, I realize, but these two are neighbors and have something going.
It's kind of like the Cubs. When it comes to rivalries, the huge ones are with the Cardinals and the crosss town White Sox. But the Cub-Brewer rivalry, relatively new since the Brewers have been in the NL a realtively short time, is heating up and packs fans in when they play at both their parks. It would be hard to deny that when it comes to Cub rivalries, the Cardinals, White Sox, and Brewers all register.
The New York MLB rivalries, past and present, are legendary:
Giants vs. Dodgers
Yankees vs. Giants
Yankees vs. Dodgers
Yankees vs. Mets
Yankees vs. Red Sox
But in today's NY Times, there was an article about how depressing this World Series is for Met fans. Who are they to cheer for or even want to see when when its Yankees vs. Phillies.
Now I know Mets vs. Phillies does not compare with the above, but it appears to be a rivalry that NYC cares about. Will it get more so and possibly be considered like the ones above. Philly is the closest MLB city to NY, not Boston. Tradition isn't there the same, I realize, but these two are neighbors and have something going.
It's kind of like the Cubs. When it comes to rivalries, the huge ones are with the Cardinals and the crosss town White Sox. But the Cub-Brewer rivalry, relatively new since the Brewers have been in the NL a realtively short time, is heating up and packs fans in when they play at both their parks. It would be hard to deny that when it comes to Cub rivalries, the Cardinals, White Sox, and Brewers all register.
So what about Mets vs. Phils?
The Met-Phillies thing is not really a rivalry, not on the level of the great ones we all know about. It just so happens that both team were competitive at the same time over the last few years and are in close proximity to each other. When the Braves owned the division nobody really cared about Met-Phillies, at least in NYC, and most likely not in Philadelphia either. They were just games that had to be played. They were not (for the most part) considered big games. Now that both teams were competitive for a while at the same time, and they are geographically close, they will always carry some kind of a buzz. But until the time comes that the two teams are battling on a somewhat regular basis in the NLCS, it's really not going to be a true rivalry on the level of the big ones in sports.
And we're not anywhere close to seeing these two teams play a meaningful game in October against each other.
And we're not anywhere close to seeing these two teams (Phillies and Mets) play a meaningful game in October against each other.
If the Mets had brought in Dr. Heimlich in September 2007 and September 2008, maybe that wouldn't be the case.
The big reason Mets/Phillies isn't a huge rivalry yet from the New York point of view is, as was noted by BTC, the Phillies and Mets have rarely both been good at the same time in their respective histories, at least until 2007 and 2008. If the Mets can bounce back next year from their injury bug and the Phillies don't implode in some way, the rivalry will get dialed up another notch.
It should also be noted New York and Philadelphia are rivals in all sports in general, particularly Giants/Eagles and Rangers/Flyers (and Devils/Flyers), so Mets/Phillies just is part of the greater dislike between New York fans and Philadelphia fans.
Mets vs. Phillies, are a rivalry, especially when you ask Mets fans. At one point, the Mets and Phills weren't even a rivalry and there wasn't any type of beef between these two teams.
As for the Mets and Yanks, I wouldn't really consider it a true "rivalry", more like a lot of trash talk between the fans.
I am a Yankee fan, but from what I know about the area I would say that the Mets don't have a real NL rival per se. They have transient rivals. In the 90's it was the Braves, but Mets/Braves games don't have that sizzle any more. Phillies/Mets is a rivalry now bit if Philly falls off and the Nats some how become good the Nats will be the Mets rival.
Mets/Phillies should be a huge rivalry. It should be at the same level or close to it as Rangers/Devils vs Flyers or Giants vs Eagles. It should be one of the best rivalries in baseball.
In both 2007 and 2008 when both teams were competitive and the division could have gone either way, you could walk up to the box office at Shea Stadium while people were filing in to watch the two teams, and you could buy tickets for that night's game.
I'm not saying that automatically disqualifies something from being a rivalry, but it definitely doesn't help make the case for it being one.
Why are the Mets in the news? They're about as irrelevant as irrelevant gets. And for it to be a rivalry, it's generally a close competition with one team winning the division one year and the other the next. Since this whole thing became a rivalry (est Rollins' spring training comments 2007) it's been one-sided to say the least.
Why are the Mets in the news? They're about as irrelevant as irrelevant gets. And for it to be a rivalry, it's generally a close competition with one team winning the division one year and the other the next. Since this whole thing became a rivalry (est Rollins' spring training comments 2007) it's been one-sided to say the least.
I'm actually not sure why anyone is even talking about them at all, other than maybe the idea that the two teams getting ready to play each other are the Yankees and Phillies, two teams that give Mets fans nightmares.
And I can almost guarantee that somewhere right now Fred and Jeff Wilpon are sitting around convinced that this is good for them because as long as people talk about their team, the team is relevant and there's no reason to do anything to address any problems.
BTW: A few weeks ago I told a serious Mets fan that I know that his biggest nightmare will come when Pedro Martinez in a Phillies uniform pitches to Derek Jeter in the World Series this year. His answer: "Sure, like that's REALLY gonna happen!" I'll have to give him a call tomorrow and see what's new.
Why are the Mets in the news? They're about as irrelevant as irrelevant gets. And for it to be a rivalry, it's generally a close competition with one team winning the division one year and the other the next. Since this whole thing became a rivalry (est Rollins' spring training comments 2007) it's been one-sided to say the least.
Simple, the Mets are a New York team. No matter how bad they are, they will always be in the news. It is as if someone wonders why the Knicks acutally have games on ABC or ESPN. As for the rivalry, it started in 2007. How "one sided" can a rivalry be if it's only 2 years old?
Mets vs. Phillies, are a rivalry, especially when you ask Mets fans.
I'm a Mets fan, and I have to say, I tend to side more with BringtheContent. In recent years, it seems like the media wants to have a say in which teams make up rivalries. For many years--before balanced schedules and divisional alignments and such--Met fans considered major rivalries to involve the Cubs and the Cardinals. Lately it seems to shift around to whichever team they happen to be contending against. Earlier in the decade it was Atlanta, now it's Philadelphia.
Here's a scenario: the Mets are having a good season, and so are the Marlins. You can take this to the bank--our friendly local media will tell us that the Mets and Marlins are intense rivals. All of a sudden, neither the Braves nor the Phillies will be mentioned in local papers. (Brings to mind George Orwell. Now we're at war with Eurasia. Now we're at war with Eastasia).
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