“This is your Mason-Dixon line,’’ said Mike Landry, of Plainville, who will be cheering on the Giants on Sunday. His friends, Rob Perrone and Donna Scott glowered with rage, Silvia Rydecki smiled, and his wife, Kara shrugged indifferently.
Fans in the Boston area and metropolitan New York are gearing up for what promises to be an epic rematch of the Giants’ stunning Super Bowl upset of the Patriots in 2008. But sports fans here are approaching the matchup with the sense of diplomacy needed to deal with the lack of a steady fan base in the “Land of Steady Habits.’’
“Ninety percent of people here have a family member who is a fan for the other side,’’ said Todd Weitz, manager at Sliders and a passionate supporter of the Patriots and Red Sox.
Weitz, whose brother is a Giants loyalist, said that fans of both allegiances mix easily at the bar, which features, besides the neon helmets, symbols of neutrality such as a painting that depicts New York Yankees legends Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle converging on a field with Red Sox great Ted Williams. Babe Ruth, who helped both teams win championships, is in the background.
“But it’s not lovey-dovey all the time,’’ Weitz said. “There’s nothing worse than having to serve a Yankees fan in the middle of a 19-8 trouncing in your Red Sox jersey and having to say, ‘How was everything tonight?’ ’’
Some bar owners and managers keep their allegiances in line with their ecumenical approach to decor.
“I have to stay neutral,’’ said Tony Uliano, whose establishment, Arch II Sports Bar & Grill, is a short distance from the halfway point between Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park. And neutrality is a word heard often here.
“This is like the Switzerland of sports,’’ said Mike McCoy, who moved here from Maine. “Last night, I talked to a Giants fan. I talked to a Mets fan. You never know who you’re sitting next to.’’
