ROSTER: Yankee fans in the mayoral race include (from left) Christine Quinn, Adolfo Carrión Jr. and Joe Lhota. John Liu and Bill Thompson are Met fans. Bill de Blasio (third from right) is — “Ugh!” — a Red Sox fan. (
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For weeks, the city’s mayoral candidates have talked about everything from charter schools to the minimum wage, but one burning question has gone unanswered — Mets or Yankees?
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the Democratic front-runner, grew up on Long Island as a Met fan but had a change of heart early in her relationship with future spouse Kim Catullo.
“On my third date with Kim — she’s a crazy sports fan — she looked at me square in the eye and said, ‘I’m not willing to go further in this relationship if you’re not a Yankee fan.’ ”
It’s one flip-flop Quinn said she doesn’t regret.
But while Quinn’s reasons are almost forgivable, another Democratic hopeful undoubtedly deserves a Bronx cheer: Public Advocate Bill de Blasio — a Manhattan native raised in Cambridge, Mass. — is an unapologetic Boston Red Sox fan.
“New York City is my home, the place I’ve raised my family and dedicated my life,” he said. “But I grew up rooting for the Red Sox as a kid, and I’m no flip-flopper.”
Former MTA Chairman and GOP candidate Joe Lhota, a Bronx Bomber fanatic, forgives him.
“He’s from Boston,” Lhota said. “He can’t help himself. He’s genetically deficient.
Lhota grew up in The Bronx following Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.
“I listened to every single game on my transistor radio . . . There’s nothing more majestic than the Pinstripes.”
Former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr., the Independence Party nominee for mayor and “a Yankee fan through and through,” chuckled when told about de Blasio’s love for the hated Sox.
“That should disqualify him right away,” Carrión said.
John Catsimatidis and George McDonald, both vying for the Republican nod for mayor, also favor the Yanks.
Strangely, the two bean counters in the race are Met fans, despite the Amazin’s being far behind the Yankees mathematically in virtually every important category (like wins and World Series titles).
John Liu, the Democratic city comptroller, is a Queens native who grew up near Shea Stadium and Citi Field. He’s predicting an implausible World Series victory for the Mets this coming season., but acknowledged that convincing his son to keep rooting for the team is hard.
“He roots for the Yankees more than I like to see,” Liu said. “I often explain to Joey how being a Mets fan builds character.”
Former City Comptroller Bill Thompson is more realistic about his beloved Amazin’s.
“It would be nice to see them get to .500 this year,” he said. “I’m not delirious to think they’ll get to the playoffs.”
Tom Allon, who owns several community newspapers and started out as a sportswriter, fell in love with the Miracle Mets of 1969 and has rooted for them ever since.
“I have to admit its been hard to be a Mets fan during the past 10, 15 years,” said Allon, the Liberal Party nominee. “I’ve always liked the underdogs, and that’s why the Mets appealed to me.”