Why can't Mets and Yankees fans get along?

Because, most, not ALL of Yankees fans are complete idiots. For example, as a Mets fan and Yankee hater, I can still admit that Jeter is a GREAT shortstop and that Sheffield is a great player as well. Yankees fans cant do that. Yankee fans say, ohh yeah, Jaret Wright is better than Pedro Martinez, why? only because he's on the yankees. Johnny Damon is better than Carlos Beltran they say, not true, they cant admit to anything because Yankees fans are morons.

Well you know what, now the Kings are in QUEENS, get used to being the "Bums from the Bronx".

By the way, to the guy who posted this question, I commend you, you're one of the few, the proud, intelligent Yankees fans. Kudos.

There is a basic belief that if a city has two teams in the same sport, its citizens must love one and hate the other. What is more true is that the two teams usually have different philosophies and are located in different parts of a large city so that geography does play a part.

The Yankees have been around forever and are the winningest team in baseball history. They have always been the richest and have used their financial advantage to get the best players, yes even before free agency. It was once said that cheering for the Yankees was like cheering US Steel, a large corporation at the time. The expectation is that the Yankees will win because they generally have the best team money can buy.

The Mets were created in 1962 and spent their first seven years as the worst team in baseball. They were comically bad. The fans still loved them though. In 1969, they seemingly came out of nowhere and won the World Series. There is a romantic charm involved with being a Mets fan just as there was in being a Brooklyn Dodger fan before the team relocated.

The Yankees are baseball royalty. There is a respect for their accomplishments, but they are not endearing. The Mets are relatively common. They have their ups and downs like most teams and most people. Because their World Series appearances are few (1969, 1973, 1986, 2000) they are more special to their fans.

The difference is that Yankee fans like that their team is more professional and consistently expected to win. Mets fans like the idea that their team has a hometown feel to it. Those two ideologies tend to clash.

All you people who refer to fans in generalities sound ridiculous. It's okay to give your opinion, but don't start characterizing everyone in the same way. I am a huge Yankee fan, and I get along with Mets fans. If you're talking about the animosity at an actual game, then that's an entirely different situation alltogether. It's everywhere. Chicago, Texas, California, have conversations all the time with Mets fans. And I enjoy watching games this year. Anyone who doesn't give the Mets the respect they are due (this year) is just ignoring the facts. They're fun to watch now and they're no threat to the Yankees. We wouldn't face them until the World Series, so I don't care how many games they win. They could win 20 more than the Yanks do. I don't care. They're not our direct competition, and the only time I care about whether they win or not is when they're playing the Yankees. I like the fact that my Met fan friends are able to enjoy it this year instead of the usual "feel sorry for me" attitude. You cannot deny the METS are great this year

Because the Yankees have been around 60 years longer, have 24 more championships and own New York. The Mets will never be what the Yankees are, never have the history, stars, or championships. Met fans are always up on the Yankees, hoping they fail in order to get more attention and respect. Yankee fans are mad at Met fans because of the hate that they spew towards the Yanks. Even the Mets' manager, Willie Randolph is a Yankee, and the Mets can't accept that the only way to win is the Yankee way!

I think the two teams attract different kinds of fans. When I was a little boy, the Yankees were the only game in town, but despite their winning they weren't always very exciting. Then they invented the Mets, who despite always losing (well, not exactly always), kept it interesting and fun. I was a fan of both teams until George Steinbrenner came along, and when he is gone I may become a Yankee fan again, though now I will place the Seattle Mariners ahead of them.

I remember in the early 1960s Yankee fans looked down on Mets fans, and had to eat crow when they collapsed. When Tom Seaver pitched his 300th victory, he was with the White Sox, and the game happened to be at Yankee Stadium. The place was packed with Mets fans, who rooted for Seaver and chanted "Let's go, Mets" whenever the White Sox batted (the Sox may have been confused by this, but a win is a win).

I still get along with Yankees fans - had a blast joking with them at Safeco Field last year. I'm still a Mets fan, of course (and rooted for both teams when the Mets came to Seattle).

Yankees and Mets fans don't get along because it's great FUN to not get along, to needle your fellow New Yorker at the water cooler, on line, or best of all at SHEA STADIUM where there's closer to a 50-50 mix of Yanks and Mets fans than there is at Yankee Stadium during in intra-city battle. GO and see for yourself: Batter hits a deep outfield fly ball and half the fans rise to their feet and cheer in anticipation of a hit. Outfielder makes a fine catch and the standing fans sit down, instantly replaced by the other half of the fans, who cheer even more wildly. This is a GREAT fan experience... get out there next year and see for yourself!

BTW, it's fine if you're a dead-equal fan of both teams, good for you, but you're missing out on a lot of fun!!!

There is a long, long history of the rivalry between National League baseball and American League baseball which predates the Mets by 60 years. For decades it was a three-way rivalry between the Dodgers, Giants and Yankees. The Mets have simply filled the slot in the rivalry once occupied by the previous two teams.

So much of it is tradition. It is woven into baseball fandom here and passed down from generation to generation. It is a part of NYC's culture, particularly for people who are born here.

When the Mets play...I root for the Mets

When the Yankees play...I root for the Yankees

When the Mets play the Yankees...I check the goings on at the Jets training camp.

Yep. Same reason that Cub and White socks fans can't get along. It sucks because half of my family are White Sox fans and the other half are Cubs fans. Makes for an interesting family reunion.

Its like sibling rivalry.

Because Yankee Fans are Cave Men and Can't Communicate with Humans.