The Mets and Yankees may be cross-town rivals, but I was able to overcome that bad blood by playing the role of none other than Grimas in enemy territory.
Well, most of the time it is.
On Thursday night, as two beloved MLB teams were playing in the Big Apple, I decided to put on a costume of Grimas, the Mets' unofficial lucky mascot, and head down to Boogie Down.
However, there were some caveats.
I wore a glittery Yankees suit around my neck and cheered on the Bronx Bombers as the lovable McDonald character, who has become a charming battle cry for the Mets this season.
Given the history between the two fanbases, some might think doing so would be akin to signing my own death warrant.
But when I arrived in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, the welcome I received was surprising to say the least.
Of course, I was on the receiving end of the Bronx cheers – this is New York after all.
“Leave that in Queens,” one Yankee fan, who was watching the game on his cell phone outside, yelled a few minutes into my adventure.
“If you're wearing something like that, what are you doing in the Bronx,” another man yelled.
Another Yankees fan shook his head as he passed by his friends.
But some people were excited to find the Mets-owned fast food icon on a day other than Halloween.
Some people wanted to take pictures with the purple monster while the Yankees played Game 3 of the ALCS against the Guardians in Cleveland. Although I am a Mets fan, I was also invited to the neighborhood's prime watering hole.
“I thought Grimas was a Mets fan,” a woman told me as I took a photo.
And another woman in a Mets shirt later told me I was a “champion” who prepared as a grimace in the Bronx. Then she walked past me again and told me she was shocked to see that her rise was still bulging.
I was welcomed into a bar filled with mostly Yankees fans, who applauded and laughed when I held up my Yankees necklace.
You have to believe (see what I did there) Mr. Met would have gotten some white boos, but the grimace is a lovable thing that can overcome rivalries.
Before I could ask a patron about the Yankees-Grimas collab, I was asked to leave because a private party was being held at the bar. To be fair, the giant purple thing behind me was preventing some fans from watching TV.
One Yankees fan outside the bar told the Post his team doesn't need a gimmick.
“Teams used gimmicks for whatever reason, but the Yankees are a very old school tradition,” he said, citing the team's strict no-beard rules for players. “They've supported it for years, they haven't changed, and I support it, I understand that.”
But one young woman who works at a Bronx ballpark had the audacity to declare, “Grimas is always at Citi Field, but he should be at the Yankees' stadium.''
Regardless of team loyalty, photo requests and waving were the norm throughout the night. No one tried to push me down. That only happens in Boston or Philadelphia.
I am confident that Grimas' legend will live on even after this baseball season ends. To be honest, there is no way Hamburglar would receive such a reception.
