Thoughts on Yankees vs. Phillies

Many people think Yankees vs. Philies is the worst World Series match-up possible for a Mets fan to take a side in and still be able to look in the mirror the next day.  Having read a few days of posts on the subject on various blogs, let's sum up the arguments.

(1)  New York vs. Everyone Else

One school of thought says that you should root for New York, even if it's not the team you would prefer to see in the series.  Advantage: Yankees

but:

This theory ignores all of the visceral reasons many New Yorkers hate the Yankees.

(2) If the Mets were in the World Series, many Yankees fans would root for them, especially, say, vs. the Red Sox.

Advantage: Yankees

but:

This is probably true, but many Yankees fans don't hate the Mets quite the same way that many Mets fans hate the Yankees.  It's more like Yankees fans think of Mets fans the same way as they think of their uncool, somewhat annoying little brother.

(3)  Most Mets fans find Yankees fans highly annoying.

Advantage: Phillies

but:

A number of posters claim that Phillies fans are, pound for pound, even worse...and are really just retrofitted Eagles fans who jumped on the Phillies bandwagon once they started winning.  Advantage: Yankees

however:

Even if Phillies fans are more annoying per se, if you live in NYC you probably know two Phillies fans,  while you work with, live next to, and get stuck on the D train with swarms of Yankees fans.  Therefore, the Yankees fans will be more annoying to you.  Advantage: Phillies

(4) Damn, the Phillies have some annoying players.

Shane Victorino, Jimmy "Criswell Predicts" Rollins, Cole Hamels, etc.  With the exception of A-Rod, I don't think many Mets fans feel this way about individual Yankees players.  Advantage: Yankees

(5) The Phillies have replaced Atlanta as the Eternal Enemy of the Mets

Advantage: Yankees

but...

It's only been that way for two years.  Who cared about the Phillies one way or the other before then? Will you care about the Phillies once they start to suck again (and you know they will, even if it takes a few years)?  The Yankees are the true Eternal Enemy of the Mets, and have been since the 1920's (since Mets fans were probably Brooklyn Dodgers or NY Giants fans back in the day).  Advantage: Phillies

(6) You may think the only Real Baseball is played in the National League

Advantage: Phillies

(7) The Yankees pretty much bought their talent, while like them or not, the Phillies players are mostly "home-grown" or came from judicious trades and signings.  Advantage: Phillies

but:

It's not like the Mets are a low-salary, small market team.  Sometimes when talking about improving the Mets, the argument ends up amounting to "the Mets need to become more like the Yankees."

(8)  George Steinbrenner is Satan

Steinbrenner started the "buy up everything that moves" theory of team formation, and while it doesn't always work, is largely responsible for the inflated salaries in baseball and the fact that the average person can't afford to go to the games anymore.   Steinbrenner, an actual Republican, has turned the Yankees into the Republicans of baseball (as a friend of a friend on Facebook described them).  Advantage: Phillies

Conclusion:  Watch football!  Jets or Giants? Um, let's not go there.