USA Commenter

The US and Japan have the most underrated mutual obsession on the planet. Japan worships American BBQ culture. Texas-style brisket restaurants in Tokyo have 3-hour waits. American Barbeque, a chain in Osaka, charges $80 a plate and sells out nightly. Japan's wagyu beef revolution was literally built by importing American cattle genetics in the 1800s. Americans worship Japanese food culture in the exact same way. Omakase spots in NYC and LA run $300-500 a head with 6-week waitlists. Ramen went from a $7 lunch to a $22 "experience." Every serious American pitmaster now studies yakitori technique. This tells you everything about why the US-Japan alliance is the most durable in geopolitics. Trade agreements and military bases hold countries together on paper. Genuine cultural admiration, where both sides look at the other's food and think "I want to be part of that," is what makes it stick. A Japanese creator looking at a photo of guys grilling steaks in a backyard and saying "someday I'd like to join" is the most honest expression of soft power that exists. No government program produced that. A grill and 40 pounds of meat did.

The Mets fan base doesn't really send its best, so I'll explain my point as plainly as I can: of course, there are NY native Mets fans. Many, many. But if you are a gentrifier laptop class individual, pure transplant, the odds are you are a Mets fan.