Robert Caplin for The New York Times
Ricky Cavallo, left, a Yankee fan, with काitlin Hurley, a Red Sox fan, at Stan's Sports Bar at Yankee Stadium।
Something seemed very strange at Stan’s Sports Bar near Yankee Stadium, after the Yankees won the first game of their doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday: Fans of the two teams that constitute one of the oldest rivalries in baseball could be seen shaking hands, giving hugs, and even dancing together।
icky Cavallo, 42, of Plainville, Conn., a self-proclaimed “true blue” Yankee fan went as far as to buy a Stan’s souvenir shirt for a Red Sox fan, Caitlin Hurley, 29, of Manhattan.
Nearby, another Red Sox fan, Julia Clews, 24, also of Manhattan, danced to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” with a Samuel Adams in hand.
“I need this song right now,” she said, adding, “When they see the Red Sox hat, they offer you a drink.”
While it was not quite as momentous as, say, the Christmas truce that briefly interrupted the slaughter on the Western Front in 1914, the cordiality was certainly unusual. Yet the reason for it was relatively simple, and scant comfort to any proud citizen of Red Sox Nation — the team has been in free fall since Sept. 1, when Boston was 83-52 and seemed assured of a spot in the postseason.
Now, the Red Sox find themselves fighting with Tampa Bay for the final American League playoff spot, and even some Yankee fans acknowledge feeling sympathy; Red Sox Nation’s collapse has been so violent that the fun of rooting against them has been all but spoiled.
“I almost feel like they’re giving up already,” said Kalin Woode, 29, a nurse who lives in New Hampshire but is originally from the Bronx, where she developed an allegiance to the Yankees.
“Even though I’m cheering for the Yankees, on the inside I’m like, come on Red Sox. Pull it together. Give me a game to watch,” she added.
Ms. Woode also felt compelled to buy Ms. Hurley, also a nurse, a few drinks at Stan’s.
“I got her two Jameson shots and two Jäger bombs and a Corona,” she said. “And I wrote on her Facebook wall, ‘Sorry boo!’ I’m a very nice and cordial Yankee fan today.”
Even the Yankee brass got into the pity parade: After the first game of their series was rained out on Friday, the Yankees gave the Red Sox unusual input into the rescheduling of the game, drawing praise from Terry Francona, Boston’s manager. He recalled the Yankees’ general manager, Brian Cashman, explicitly saying, "This game means more to you."
In the stadium Sunday night for the second game, Keith Scalia, 37, a Red Sox fan and landscaper from Old Saybrook, Conn., came braced for the worst.
“I’ve gotten into fights with Yankee fans before,” he said. “I’ve exchanged punches in the stands, but not tonight.”
He added that even some employees at the stadium were kinder than normal. “The waitresses at one of the restaurants were teasing us, saying ‘You have to drink more shots.’ ”
Bere Bertaut, 22, a construction worker from Southampton, N.Y., wearing an Ellsbury T-shirt, had a similar experience — up to a point.
“I haven’t gotten much hating,” he said in front of a concession stand. “Usually people yell at me to take my hat off, but I haven’t heard one thing.”
He spoke too soon. Suddenly, a Yankee fan walked directly over to him and started screaming into his face, gesticulating wildly.
“Stick a fork in it! You’re done! Go back to Boston,” shouted the aggressor, who then disappeared almost immediately. Caught off guard, Mr. Bertaut simply stared in shock.
“Whoa,” he said. “I guess it’s still Yankee Stadium, after all.”
Afterward, a member of the stadium staff came over and complimented Mr. Bertaut on keeping calm.
“He got kicked out,” the employee said. “You don’t do that in here.”
No one is saying that Boston’s recent ineptitude permanently altered the hatred that many Yankee fans have for the Red Sox; there is also the realization or fear that the Red Sox could somehow turn things around.
“I always go to the game thinking the same thing, it’s the Red Sox,” said Daniella Ghichi, 25, a banker from Brooklyn who has season tickets to the Yankees. “We still have that little bit of fear, even if we’re 100 runs ahead.”
“It’s never like, ‘Oh, we got this,’ because anything could happen in baseball,” she added.
Indeed, with three games left in the season, the good feelings may be as short-lived as the Christmas truce. Boston won the second game, 7-4, in 14 innings.
