Before I answer why I’m a New York Sports fan, I’m going to preface it with the belief that it is both a gift and a curse. Although many would find that impossible to believe, I have justification I will discuss later on. As for the answer, it traces back to my grandfather, an avid Brooklyn Dodgers fan during the peak of their iconic rivalry with the Yankees. When the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, he refused to be a Yankees fan due to the pure hatred he held for them. Instead, he was left with the New York Metropolitans, a replacement team that arrived after both the Dodgers and Giants left for the West Coast in the 1950s and ’60s. The Mets actually pay homage to both teams with their official colors being “Dodger Blue” and “Giant Orange.”

I often think back to my Dad and his Dad unintentionally casting a curse on my mental state with his geographic location. I wouldn’t say I necessarily get jealous of people who have the luxury of supporting other teams, but it’s impossible to avoid the question “Why me?” depending on the ridiculous scenario in which only the team I support could somehow get screwed. There is always a little disappointment and sadness when I think about my teams due to the abundance of negative connotations regarding each franchise. I’ve also been recently reflecting about how the results of their games have a devastating (way bigger than it should be) impact on my everyday life.

Anyhow, despite the ridiculous swings of wins and losses and the Mets in particular managing to lose eight games in a row on three separate occasions this year, my New York Sports fandom provides a sense of comfort and stability for me. I look at it as an escape. Being able to sit down wherever I am, pull out my laptop/phone and immerse myself in the 2-3 hour viewing experience ultimately soothes me. I love the little details of a game, like the conversations between my childhood heroes (Mets announcers Gary Keith & Ron and Knicks announcers Mike Breen and Clyde Frazier) and the ridiculous stories they conjure. The obscure statistics and ones that I strongly believe jinx the team like SNY displaying “the Mets are 0-67 when trailing in the 9th inning” every single time they begin to rally all contribute to the overall complexity of the watching experience. What I love most about modern technology and creations like Instagram is that before, during, and after a game, all fans have the ability to publicly share their thoughts on forums. For me, this is another part of my escape from my “responsibilities” and a method I use to blow frustration off from other facets of my life in a way that I find to be productive and enjoyable. In this frustration dump, I’m able to become one with the New York sports community, an enduring group of people who all experience the ups and downs of suffering and elation as one.

To put the misery in perspective, the Mets, Jets, Rangers, and Knicks have a combined 306 years of playing experience and only nine championships. That averages to roughly one championship every 34 seasons. None of them have won a championship in the 21st century. The Jets’ sole Super Bowl came as AFL members (1968), the Rangers won three of four titles before 1940, the Knicks’ two titles were in 1969 and 1973, and the Mets’ last championship was in 1986. To say that we’re enduring a drought is an understatement of epic proportions, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I find that many people see sports as a trivial obsession, and there’s nothing wrong with that belief. But is anyone ever really liberated from their own niche the way I am infatuated with sports? In a world with heavy philosophical theories like absurdism, existentialism, and nihilism, I see my fandom as a reflection of the components that make up these belief systems. I resonate with the inherent meaninglessness of Absurdism in that my rebellion comes in the form of embracing the predictable futility that each team endures year-after-year, yet I refuse to succumb and actually find meaning in the games themselves, not the outcome. I see existential aspects in choosing to remain staunchly loyal to my teams as it ultimately defines who I am as a person. And lastly, my teams have achieved almost nothing in the last quarter-century. From a nihilistic standpoint, it does not and will not matter at all. However, I continue to pour my heart and soul into it, embracing every loss and every improbable win.

So back to Why I’m a New York sports fan? While the answer can be traced back to the strict lines of a map, it’s much deeper than geography. It’s absurd, existential, and even a little nihilistic, as I find joy in the struggles of four franchises stuck in a rut deeper than the Mariana Trench. My fandom is an embodiment of who I am as a person, someone with unwavering loyalty connected to a city with a relentless motor lacking the capacity to be denied in any facet of life.

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