Fan Shot by Bernie Kastner
I was born in February 1957 in Brooklyn three months before National League baseball owners voted unanimously to allow the Brooklyn Dodgers to move to Los Angeles. My father, of blessed memory, was a huge Brooklyn Dodgers fan, and his favorite player was Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax.
When the Mets came into the league in 1962, my Dad’s allegiance shifted to the Mets, and remained that way for the rest of his life and continues to this day as die-hard fans for me, my brother and our families.
However, whenever the Dodgers would visit Shea Stadium, there was a bit of an ambivalence on my Dad’s part especially when Koufax was scheduled to pitch. I can recall one of those times on Thursday night August 26, 1965 when my Dad bought tickets to watch Koufax pitch and we sat between home and third base all the way back in the upper deck.
It was the only ticket he could afford but was worth the price of admission. I sensed that he was rooting for Koufax, but amazingly though he was ultimately shocked, laughter and amusement took over when the Mets and Tug McGraw got their first ever win against him after 13 previous defeats.
Fast forward to the year 2020. The LA Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves in Game 7 of the NLCS by a score of 4-3. Who was I rooting for?
Well, because my Dad was originally a Dodgers fan, some of that rubbed off on me and stuck with me all of these years – I am 63. So while I was pulling for the Dodgers to win, I don’t have any reservations when it comes to who to root for when the Dodgers play against the Mets.
In the 2015 NL division series in which the Mets defeated the Dodgers 3 games to 2, I remember absolutely hating the Dodgers. I believe that part of that sentiment was born out of the fact that there was no Sandy Koufax on that team. Nonetheless, it points to where I was able to harness my true die-hard Met support despite any lingering associations of Dodger-rooting in the past. During some of the most tense moments, there was absolutely no room for any softness toward the other team. How sweet it was when we won that series and the next one against the Cubs to get to the World Series.
I often wonder whether one is considered a true blue loyal fan of the game if they have more than one team they root for. Not many people I know are both Yankee and Met fans. I could understand the double allegiance if someone moved to another city as an adult and find themselves still rooting for their childhood city team. That makes sense to me.
I guess that same logic holds for me as a part-time Dodgers fan, as long as they are not playing against the Mets. And I also imagine that last night’s Dodger win over the hated division rival Braves, did actually make it sweeter from the perspective of us Met fans.
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