As the Subway Series barrels into Game 3, Tigers take on a New York state of mind

Jackie Moessner '03 has one thing to say about Yankee fans: They are "egotistical and obnoxious."

Moessner is a New Yorker and a Mets fan in the truest sense of the word. Though her entire family roots for the Yankees, she has remained loyal to the Mets — historically the less successful of New York's two baseball teams — for "as long as I can remember," she said.

Though she still hopes her team can make a comeback after losing the first two games of the World Series, Moessner said she is dreading the fallout from another Yankee championship.

"If the Yankees win, I am seriously considering never going home so that I don't have to deal with my family," Moessner joked. "I may have to sign offline permanently so as not to have to deal with my friends and their gloating."

"[Yankee fans] already have such an ego that it will become unbearable if they win," she added.

Moessner is just one of many Yankee and Mets fans who have something to say about the series — the first Subway Series since 1956 and the first ever played between the Mets and the Yankees — which is being contested only an hour-and-a-half from the University.

New Yorkers are passionate about their baseball teams, and this series pits the city's two franchises against each other in a fight not only for the world championship but also for bragging rights.

Another outspoken fan is Ben Schaye '02, whose "Go Yanks" signs all around his dorm room demonstrate his loyalty.

He said he is confident his team will embarrass the Mets. "Yanks in four," he predicted.

Though he was raised a Mets fan by his father, Schaye said he became an avid Yankee fan when he was almost 13-years-old. When asked the difference between his team and the Mets, he answered quickly: "Class."

Schaye added that the "score says it all" when comparing the two teams. He said the first two games — which the Mets lost by one run each — characterize the team as losers. "They are always close, but no cigar," he quipped.

Regardless of his strong ties to the Yankees, Schaye has lived with a "die-hard" Mets fan for the past two years. He said the atmosphere in their room during the past weekend "was pretty tense," adding that they often are at each other's throats during the games.

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Schaye said if the Mets win, he will have to throw a Mets party in his room as part of a bet that he made with his roommate.

Udai Tambar, a graduate student at the Wilson School, is another Mets fan who has struggled to cope with the Yankees' tremendous success during the past four years — a time span during which they have won three World Series. Tambar said he was living in New York City and witnessed firsthand the parades celebrating the success of his team's nemesis last year.

"It sucked being the number-two team in the city," he said. "Yankees fans are obnoxious."

Tambar explained that this series is about pride: Whoever wins is the dominant team in the city, while the loser is the goat. "If you lose, you're going to have to move out of the city," Tambar said.

He added it will be difficult returning to Manhattan if the Yankees win, not only because of the Yankee decorations blanketing the city, but also because he will have to deal with Yankee fans who will tease him about the series.

"Let's just say that I'm going to be going back to the city a lot less frequently," Tambar joked. "I'm going to have to find things to do in Philly or Trenton."

New Yorker Nick Birnback, also a Wilson School graduate student, sat with Tambar at the Frist Campus Center on Sunday night, watching Game 2 of the World Series.

A Yankee fan, Birnback did not hesitate in taunting his friend as the Yankees took an early lead. "It's tough rooting for an expansion team," he hooted.

When asked how he would feel if his team lost to the Mets, Birnback seemed indifferent. Looking at Tambar, Birnback smiled and said, "I'll fall back on my [37] pennants and 25 championships."

Scott Golenbock '02, another Yankee fan from Westchester County, did not hesitate in verbally poking fun at the Mets and their fans. "Shea's a dump. It's nasty," he said. He added that his friends from home who are Mets fans "are always jealous of me."

For her part, Moessner is definitely not jealous of Yankee fans like Golenbock. She said she has encountered more Mets fans than Yankee fans on campus.

"It goes to show that Princeton students really are smart," she said.

Ironically, Moessner's boyfriend — who does not attend the University — is a Yankee fan. "He drives me insane a lot because he continually calls the Yankees superior and puts the Mets down," she said. "It can cause a little tension."