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John Oliver accepts the award for outstanding scripted variety series at the 76th Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Jack Gruber / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

HBO's John Oliver Explains Why He Picked New York Mets Over New York Yankees

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Sam Connon | Last updated Jul 21, 2025 10:08 AM ET

John Oliver, host of the HBO's hit news-comedy series "Last Week Tonight." made an explosive entry into the world of baseball this summer.

The Emmy winner did a segment on the endearing abnormalities of Minor League Baseball back in May, even offering a full rebrand to a club that was looking for a shot in the arm. He ultimately selected the Pittsburgh Pirates' Double-A affiliate, the Erie SeaWolves, and gave them an alternate identity of the Erie Moon Mammoths, which they debuted this past weekend.

Oliver wasn't new to baseball this year, though. The British-born comedian, who moved to New York City 19 years ago and became an American citizen six years ago, has long been a fan of the New York Mets.

Why didn't he pick the New York Yankees as his team when he moved to the United States? Well, beyond their ties to Manchester United, Oliver told reporters Saturday that he didn't really even have a choice.

"I came to America in 2006 to start working for 'The Daily Show,' realized I had to pick the Yankees or the Mets," Oliver said. "I realized that is a decision that no human being should ever consider for too long. It would have to be the Mets. You don't get to move to a country and pick the Yankees without being an utter asshole."

John Oliver, in Erie Pa. for the unveiling of the Minor League team rebrand his ⁦@LastWeekTonight⁩ staff cooked up, was asked about his Mets fandom.

“You don’t get to move to a country and pick the Yankees without being an utter asshole.” pic.twitter.com/3t9h6c3qzY
— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) July 19, 2025

Oliver went on to describe his tortured fandom over the last two decades, as well as how his son has started to get into the Mets lately. In raising another Mets fan, Oliver has already witnessed his son go through a local rite of passage: disappointment and disbelief.

"My son has just gotten into baseball this year – massive Mets fan," Oliver said. "So the way the Mets started the year, completely atypical response from most Mets fans, he was having a happy experience, they were winning all of the games. I realized he realized he loved baseball and really loved the Mets when they were about five games into their slump and this little kid, 6-year-old kid, is looking at the TV and he's saying 'What are they doing?' I think in that moment, he became a Mets fan for life."

Oliver is notably a fan of Liverpool F.C., which went 30 years without winning a domestic title after 1990. The Reds finally broke that streak in 2020, then doubled up by winning the Premier League again a few months ago.

The Mets are in the midst of a 39-year World Series drought themselves, putting Oliver in an all-too-familiar scenario as a fan. The Yankees are fresh off winning the American League pennant in 2024, but they haven't won a World Series since 2009.

After the Mets poached Juan Soto from the Yankees in free agency this past winter, the two clubs proceeded to split the regular season Subway Series. Both teams are currently in line to earn Wild Card spots, with the Mets 0.5 games ahead of the Yankees in the overall league standings.

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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