As Fenway Park celebrates its 100th birthday, a day when the Boston Americans beat the Highlanders of New York by a score of 7-6 in eleven innings while scores of other people were being unceremoniously tossed off a cruise ship in frigid waters, we see that there is still a cold war between the two rivals.
Though the past few years have been rather innocuous, New York City has sunk to a new low. (Ironic because Boston is the city that's built on landfill.)
A controversial New York subway ad tells Big Apple commuters not to give up their seats to a Red Sox fan, even if she is pregnant.
This ad, run by an all-sports radio station in New York, seems a waste of some good money, the need to recommend this behavior. You're talking about a fan base with members who, twice in the past decade, have literally killed Boston fans. Believe me, pregnant Boston fans are grateful when your greatest crime is simply not getting up on a crowded train.
In fact, we're taught to be wary any time a Yankees fan makes a sudden movement, such as standing on a crowded subway. So don't worry, the edict itself isn't what's so disturbing. It's the fact that this ad is an act of blatant fanism.
That's right, fanism! Who would've thought that in an age where we have a White Sox fan in the White House that we could still be subjected to this type of treatment. All fans should be created equal. Yes, I'm a Boston fan, but if you prick me, do I not bleed? If you feed me, do I not burp and undo my belt? If you tickle me, do I not laugh and then very quickly summon a policeman because, seriously, we're grown men, why are you tickling me?!
Where does it end? First, you don't stand for a pregnant Red Sox fan, then you don't allow Red Sox fans to use cabs, celebrate the Macy's Day parade, buy M&Ms at the giant M&M store in Times Square. (That place is like a playground for me! Please, God, no!)
I know there are some New Yorkers out there who will risk alienation to do the right thing and let the pregnant Red Sox fans have a seat, societal customs be damned! But this is about the authority behind the ad.
Yes, we've all heard the anecdotes about how Yankees fans refuse service to someone wearing a Red Sox hat in a coffee shop. Or the deli worker who skips the number of the guy wearing the Sox jersey. These are individual acts and isolated. But for the MTA to approve the radio station's ad is too much.
You might be saying to yourself, Boston fans are just as bad as New York fans. In many ways, they are. They can get in your face, wreaking of peppers and onions, and fail to cover up all their bodily creases. But listen to what they say ... when they're not slurring.
Boston fans hate the Yankees, as in "Yankees Suck!" Yankees fans hate Boston. They mean the entire city! "Boston Sucks" is what they scream.
Boston fans are arrested for climbing a pole or lighting a fire. New York fans are as well, plus, uh, y'know ... there's also the murder charges.
Boston fans take credit for the number of championships they've won in their lifetime. New Yorkers take credit for championships that were won before their grandparents were born.
(Have you ever had a 6-year-old brag about the 27 world championships his team has won and then blow cigarette smoke in your face? It's not fun.)
C'mon, New York! It's bad enough some people consider Boston to be a suburb of you.
Look at all Boston has done for you! First off, the Red Sox and former owner Harry Frazee gave you half of their team, including Babe Ruth in exchange for a bucket of chicken and some donuts, which in turn brought you your first few championships.
Lest we not forget what city's residents selflessly traveled the 180 miles down route I-95 during the tragic times of 2011. You said you'd never forget. Well, that lasted just over 10 years. You certainly won't be confused with elephants. (Although from a distance ... maybe just try a light beer every so often.)
Let's go back even further and remind you that if it wasn't for the good people of Boston, we, as a nation, might be drinking tea and watching cricket at the merry ol' ballgrounds. Some of those pregnant women to whom you want to give blisters gave birth to the revolutionaries that spawned this great nation; the same revolutionaries that fought for your freedom; the same freedom that allows you to decide whether or not to stand for pregnant women or not without consequence.
Show Boston that you're leaning in the direction of right over wrong and don't give them any more ammunition that proves their already deeply-stilted opinions of you. You're the bigger city. Act like it!
I've met Yankees fans who don't appreciate Boston fans and never will. And vice versa. That's why they're around, so that we, the more reasonable fans, can mock them openly on shows like "The Real Housewives of South Boston" or "So You Call that a Lougie?!" on cable access in the Bronx.
The rivalry ebbs and flows dating back before Fisk and Pinella got into it or, more recently, Varitek showed A-Rod the stitching in his glove. Steinbrenner 2.0 tried to pick up the slack when he took over, but the fans weren't as interested. Nineteen games against each other every year put a simmer on things. But someday, the fire on the field will reignite, and those players will feel the same resentment as their forebears did. But then, they get paid a lot of money to participate in the fighting.
Let's leave the pregnant ladies and other Boston fans out of it. Isn't riding on the subway torture enough? Let them ride the No. 4 Train to the new Yankee Stadium, so that you may bilk them out of their hard-earned money with your ridiculous prices for beer and bag check.
It wasn't long ago that we were all Yankees. And we battled the Confederates. I have a dream! That one day all Red Sox and Yankees fans can come together in peace and harmony ... to gang up on Philly fans.
Seriously, those folks don't deserve a seat anywhere, pregnant or not!
Popular Stories On ThePostGame:
-- More Beer? Carl Pettersson's Unconventional Training 'Diet'
-- Penn State Tragedy Spurs Changes To Enhance Sexual Abuse Prevention
-- Nick Cannon's Ncredible Health Hustle: Battling Back From Lupus, Kidney Disease
-- Beers And Golf With Graeme McDowell
