New York City's political scene just collided with baseball's fiercest rivalry, and the result is a social media firestorm. Zohran Mamdani, freshly sworn in as mayor, finds himself in an unexpected pickle: taking heat for decade-old tweets that appear to show him rooting for the Boston Red Sox.

A Mayoral Account's Surprising Confession

The controversy erupted when users rediscovered posts from the official @NYCMayor account on X, formerly Twitter. During the New York Mets' 2015 World Series run, the account made a startling admission. "It's been a privilege to watch this team (the Mets). I'm a born and bred Red Sox fan," read one post from November 1, 2015. A follow-up message added, "Something happens when you're a Sox fan living here for a few decades. You slowly fall in love with the Mets."

For fans in the five boroughs, this was heresy. The Red Sox are the arch-nemesis of both the Yankees and the Mets, making any pro-Boston sentiment political dynamite in New York. The backlash was swift and severe on social media.

Fan Fury Erupts Online

Baseball fans, conflating the account's history with the new mayor, unleashed their displeasure. "NY should be ashamed electing a Red Sox fan as their mayor," one user declared. Others were simply baffled, with comments like "Say what now?" and "My dude, what? Cmon, (you're) the mayor..." The criticism escalated quickly, with some even calling for impeachment over the perceived baseball betrayal.

However, there's a crucial twist in this tale that many angry fans missed. The tweets weren't Mamdani's at all.

The Case of Mistaken Identity

Here's where the plot thickens: Zohran Mamdani was not the mayor in 2015. That was Bill de Blasio. The official @NYCMayor account is a shared entity, carrying the digital legacy of its previous occupants. The Red Sox confession belonged to de Blasio, who faced similar fan criticism when he originally posted it.

Yet, for followers unaware the account changes hands with each administration, it looked like Mamdani had a secret past as a Boston loyalist. The confusion led to direct calls for the new mayor to explain himself. "Zohran what did you mean by this," one user demanded, while another simply posted, "Impeach." A lone, triumphant voice cheered, "YES SIR COMMANDER ZOHRAN GLORY TO THE BOSTON RED SOX," likely adding fuel to the fire.

A Rocky Start for a New Administration

This social media mix-up adds another layer of challenge for Mamdani's nascent administration. Already facing opposition from political rivals, factions within his own party, and even former President Trump, the last thing the new mayor needs is to alienate the city's massive and passionate baseball fanbase. In a city where sports allegiance often feels like a second citizenship, this kind of controversy, however mistaken, can resonate loudly.

The incident highlights the strange, enduring nature of official social media accounts and how their histories can come back to haunt new officeholders. It also proves that in New York, your politics might be debated, but your baseball loyalties are judged.

While Mamdani works to advance his policy agenda, he may now also have to do some damage control in the court of public sports opinion. For a mayor of New York, winning over the city's heart sometimes means proving you're not cheering for the wrong team.