NEW YORK, NY – There is an old saying that misery loves company. As a lifelong New York Mets and Giants fan, I have always assumed that meant sitting at a bar with fellow sufferers, complaining about bad trades, questionable coaching decisions and owners who seem to regard winning as an optional expense (Uncle Steve Cohen being the exception).
BUT… Isn’t it true that us fans of the Amazins and Jints can avoid therapy by rejoicing when the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys fall apart?
Hear me out.
When the Mets lose, it hurts. When the Giants lose, it hurts even more, particularly when you’ve spent an entire Sunday convincing yourself that this might finally be the week things turn around. And they don’t play 162 games, so each loss is a dagger. Hope, as any Giants fan knows, is a dangerous substance. There’s only so much you can lie to yourself about Jameis Winston being good enough to hoist the Vince Lombardi. It’s a drug that should come with a warning label and be sold only by prescription.
But when the Yankees lose in mind-numbing fashion to the Rays? When the Cowboys lose at home to the Bucs? Suddenly, the day doesn’t seem quite so terrible.
There is something deeply satisfying about watching Yankees fans experience the kind of pain Mets fans have been perfecting for generations. The Pinstripes, the payroll, the championship expectations — none of it guarantees happiness. Just ask Aaron Boone. Apparently, even spending like you’re buying a small European country doesn’t eliminate the possibility of disappointment.
And Dallas? Cowboys fans have never exactly been accused of lacking confidence. They call themselves America’s Team, for cripe’s sake. Their belief that the rest of the sporting world exists to annoy them is practically a civic tradition. Watching that confidence take a hit, (and Jerry Jones picking his nose on camera), can feel like an unexpected gift from the football gods.
Of course, there’s a catch.
The Yankees and Cowboys losing doesn’t actually make the Mets or Giants any better. A Mets opponent doesn’t drop a fly ball because the Yankees lose. Jaxson Dart doesn’t stay healthy because the Cowboy’s offensive line has a bad night vs Tampa. And no amount of Dallas misery will convince the Giants to stop making the kind of decisions that leave fans staring blankly at the television. This year being different, of course!
Still, emotional mathematics has its own rules.
If the Mets lose by one run and the Stanks lose, perhaps the damage is cut in half. If the Giants get embarrassed and the Cowgirls lose, maybe that’s not a completely wasted football weekend. It’s not a scientific formula, but it keeps me watching. It keeps me clinging to hope. And yes, it’s pathetic.
Is watching the Yankees and Dallas crumble better than watching the Mets and Giants succeed? Of course not. But on those inevitable days when the Mets strand 12 runners or the Giants turn Sunday into a three-hour exercise in frustration, a little misery in the Bronx and Fort Worth can be surprisingly therapeutic.
Call it Schadenfreude. Call it emotional damage control. Call it fanaticism. Whatever. If the Mets and Giants are going to break my heart, the least the Yankees and Cowboys can do is help pay the emotional deductible – a 50% discount on sports misery.
That’s it for me, feel free to comment, commiserate or counter below and come back tomorrow for Jumpin’ Jacob Sternberg.
