Being from the New York area (northern New Jersey, actually) and a bona-fide Mets fan, I think I'll enter the John Rocker controversy here. This situation is basically on hold after the Atlanta Braves ace relief pitcher testified this past week at a hearing where he appealed a three-month suspension for his racist and homophobic comments about New York in that Sports Illustrated magazine article in December. You know the story, and you know what Rocker said, even if you have not read the entire interview.
The most infamous quotes are his description of a subway ride to Shea Stadium: "Imagine having to take the (No.) 7 train to the ballpark, looking like you're (riding through) Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing."
And his opinion of gaijin: "The biggest thing I don't like about New York are the foreigners. I'm not a very big fan of foreigners. You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there. How the hell did they get in this country?"