A State Divided: Connecticut Town Sits On 'Munson-Nixon' Line Separating Yankees, Red Sox Fandom
WATERBURY, Conn. (CBSNewYork) -- Consider Connecticut a state divided on Friday as the New York Yankees prepare to battle the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series.
Fans in our neighbor to the northeast are pretty much evenly split between the Bronx Bombers and the team from Beantown. Wedged between New York and Massachusetts, perhaps it was inevitable the state would be torn between the two bitter rivals.
"You have a solid Red Sox base and a solid Yankee base," said Joe Patricolo, bartender at Shamrock Bar and Grill. "It's going to be an interesting evening."
Patricolo's watering hole is along the front line in the war of 1918. He says both sides are welcome and he's used to navigating the intense rivalry.
He and his wife, after all, live it every day.
"I have NY on my car, she has a big B on her car until the season's over, the season's over," Patricolo said.
You may have heard of the Mason-Dixon line separating the North from the South. In Connecticut, they have what some call the "Munson-Nixon" line - as in Thurman of the Yankees and Trot of the Red Sox.
Last year at Waterbury's Mattatuck Museum, visitors placed dots on a map to mark their loyalty as either Yankee blue or Boston red.
Pam Laliberte is clearly in Derek Jeter's court, but her jewelry store caters to fans of both teams with accessories to advertise loyal to either squad.
"They do both sell but we definitely have more Yankee fans," Laliberte said.
Residents say there's been a buzz about town all morning.
"A lot of my friends are mixed Yankee and Red Sox," said Waterbury resident Matt Brunyansky. "The ones that are Red Sox fans are excited the Yankees beat the A's because they want to beat the Yankees to get to the World Series."
Back at the Shamrock, both teams are on the wall but the team with the most recent win is lit up. As for the Yankees, they hope to turn the lights out this postseason.