Charming New Yorkers

The title is sarcastic.  Kind of.  All week, I did a very brave (or perhaps foolish?) thing: I wore my Twins gear (hats, shirts, jerseys - anything and everything).  Normally, no one looks twice if you wear sports-affiliated clothing. In Minnesota, it's likely no one would even notice, much less care, if you wore an out-of-state team's jersey.  Not so in the Bronx.  On any given day, wearing non-New York baseball apparel will get you some strange looks.  Not necessarily hostile, but certainly quizzical, at the very least.  To New Yorkers, it's incomprehensible that anyone would care about any team except their own.  During playoffs, though, it changed.  I was wearing the enemy's colors.  I became a target.  Acquaintances asked me if I was following the games.  Friends cheered in solidarity or enmity.  Security guards bantered and heckled.  Strangers on the street, who normally never even look at your face, squinted and stared me down.

A little bit of team spirit at the bar

I was nervous - I wanted the Twins to do well.  Elena and I bravely ventured to a Bronx Applebee's to watch Game 1, wearing our Twins shirts and cheering loudly and enthusiastically.  The Yankees fans heckled us (yes, even at an Applebee's), but they were nervous.  And then it all fell apart.  As soon as the game was done, we scurried out as quickly as we could, still able to hear the raucous celebration inside.

In the hall of giants 

On Saturday, with little hope for a win, much less an ALDS title, I still proudly donned my red shirt, jersey, and cap.  The subway was my first interaction with the enemy game-goers.  Typical New York sass, but I was prepared.  Strategy?  Show them exactly what "Minnesota nice" means.  Respond with a smile, a laugh, and a refusal to be flustered by their banter.

 My second post-season Twins/Yankees match-up.  Can I hope for a third?

At the game, there were comments.  LOTS of comments.  Whenever we saw any other Twins fans, we'd shout and cheer and give high-fives.  Did the 49,500 Yankees fans feel threatened by the 500 Twins fans?  You'd think so, given their insecurity that necessitated their booing us everywhere we went.  When we walked up to our seats (one row from the very top), we heard comments such as, "Twins fans?!"  "BOOO!" and, "Go home!"  We laughed it off.

Unfortunately, the game did not go well - not at all.  It wasn't even close.  By the 8th inning, most Twins fans had already left, but we were staying until the very end.  At that point, the guy sitting next to us (who had first been obnoxious but gradually just turned into a goofball who was actually quite funny) decided it would be fun to alert the entire section that we were still there.  "HEY!  We've got TWINS fans up here!" he yelled, loudly.  The entire section turned around, pointed, booed, and started chanting, "Asshole!  Asshole!  Asshole!" at us.  We raised our arms, laughed, and cheered as loudly as we could for Minnesota.  Obviously, they didn't win, but we still made the best of the experience, enjoyed being at the ballpark, and began hoping for better luck next year.

Fans no matter what.