New Jersey Caught in the Middle of the World Series
A central Jersey town is divided over World Series teams.
ROBBINSVILLE, N.J., Oct. 28, 2009 -- New Jersey may not have its own Major League Baseball team, but the state is caught right in the middle of this year's World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees.
Chicago and Los Angeles are used to rival fans co-existing together. The Windy City is divided between Cubs and White Sox fans. Los Angeles has Dodgers and Angels loyalists.
The Yankees and Phillies do not have a natural rivalry. The two teams have not met in a World Series since 1950 (the Yankees swept) and Philadelphia baseball fans generally reserve their scorn for the other New York team, the Mets.
But with a World Series title on the line, the rivalry is quickly heating up.
Here in New Jersey, fans tend to hew to a geographic boundary line that runs straight across the middle of the state. North of Trenton, you are more likely to find Yankees (or Mets) fans. South of the state capital is Phillies' territory.
Sitting right on that imaginary border is Robbinsville, N.J., just outside Trenton. The town is halfway between New York and Philadelphia and baseball fans here are passionate about their respective favorite teams.
At Jim's Bagel Loft, like so many other local establishments, the talk this week is all about the World Series. The debates can often grow heated.
"New York's got the glitz but Philly's got the heart," one Philadelphia fan said.
"I think we got the better closers [relief pitchers]," a Yankees fan countered. "That's the important thing."
Bagel shop owner Jim Lillis has deemed the fall classic the "Turnpike Series" in honor of the highway cutting across New Jersey that separates the two cities.
"We got two of the greatest teams in baseball playing each other," Lillis said. "It's going to be a wonderful series."
But he made it clear where his loyalty stands.
"The Yankees are going to kick butt," Lillis told ABC News.
Lillis said his customers are evenly split.
"We're right on the border. We got Phillies from the south, Yankees from the north," he said. "That's perfect for us, we're right on the battle line between the Yankees and the Phillies and during football season, between the Jets and the Eagles."
