Long time readers of this site know my personal history of moving from Baltimore to Prince Georges (outside of DC) to Newark, NJ over the last 6 years. During that time, I’ve lived in two small markets for sports clubs and one large market.
I think I have a different experience riding public transportation back from Mets games than most fans do, because I’m constantly comparing it to my time in Baltimore and DC. When I would board the Metro in both cities (It’s still a subway) it is fairly obvious that its game day. Going back from both cities, it is still clearly obvious that it is game day. There are still a ton of people on the outstretch ends of the train lines wearing fan gear. This was expected in Baltimore since there is only one subway line and one light rail line, but DC has a good amount of lines.
I rarely have this experience with the Mets. By the time I get to Times Square from the 7 express, the fans start to really disperse. By the time I get back to the PATH train, I almost never board with someone who was clearly at the game. I never really thought too much about this until this weekend.
New York has an MLS team, the NY Red Bulls (formerly the Metrostars) located in Harrison, NJ (which is great because I’m practically walking distance to a great time). The MLS is considering adding a second NY franchise in Flushing, which would be great for Queens and would probably help both franchises with their fans (nothing like rivalries). Crowding the picture, the New York Cosmos, a second tier soccer team, is making a come back this season in Long Island and want to build a 25,000 seat stadium near the race track in Queens. At the end of this year, these are the following professional sports teams in the city and the surrounding areas:
– New York Mets
– New York Yankees
– New York Jets
– New York Giants
– New York Rangers
– New York Knicks
– New York Islanders
– New York Liberty
– Brooklyn Nets
– Red Bull New York
– New Jersey Devils
– New York Cosmos (2nd Tier)
– Long Island Ducks (Independent)
– Newark Bears (Independent)
– Brooklyn Cyclones
– Staten Island Yankees
That’s 16 teams, with the possibility of a 17th.
Now I admit it’s a large geographic area. If I applied the same to Baltimore, I would have to combine the list with DC. Even so, that is two unique communities sharing those teams.
I’m fascinated by the dynamics in New York because there are some teams that rule over the whole region (Mets, Yankees, Giants, Jets, Knicks, Red Bulls) and then there are smaller teams that feel local due (Islanders, Nets for example).
Sometimes it feels like Sports Saturation in New York, but at the same time it feels like New York, and its surrounding areas could take on more teams. I still believe, although I think it is a bad idea, that if another MLB team moved to the area, there would be enough support here to keep it and the Yankees/Mets afloat.
