Meet Max Wiener, the Mets fan basking in wild fashion and good-luck home runs
Max Wiener before a game between the Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field on Tuesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
In the darkest stretch of this young Mets season, a neon light of hope emerged.
The day was April 4, and the Mets had yet to manage a victory. It was the second game of a doubleheader against the Tigers, and they’d gone 1-for-24 without a run scored. For a certain subset of Mets fans – that is to say, almost all of them – it was a sign: The season was over.
And then, like Oscar the Grouch’s happier, more psychedelic cousin, another type of fan made himself known.
Sporting a mint green faux fur coat, eyewear that could be mistaken for cataract glasses, two gigantic Mets-themed medallions, and what appeared to be a long shirt decorated with rabid, technicolored wolves, Max Wiener grooved to the sound of his own music. His dancing was showcased on both the Mets and Tigers broadcasts, and put on Citi Field’s gigantic screen.
Then the Mets hit two home runs. They won their first game and nine of the next 12.
A mop-topped legend was born.
The legend is growing… pic.twitter.com/CfEiiPMtV5
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 16, 2024
And it turns out the only thing that rivals the size of his massive head of curls is his love for the orange and blue.
“It’s just so fun because I’m just a regular Mets fan who wears what he normally wears,” said Wiener, 24, who’s a comedian from Manhattan. “It’s fun to have people recognize it and have people be like, you know what? Maybe he’s good for the team because I’ve seen some doldrum years for the Mets and to see things finally look up, it’s fun. It’s a good time.”
Shortly after, Wiener, cheery and affable, and wearing a fuchsia and teal tracksuit at Tuesday's game, was contacted by AthleteLogos’ Dan Abrams – the Commack-based graphic designer whose fan designs often go viral – and Wiener was christened "The Rally Pimp."
There are T-shirts.
“The Twitter fans were on Max as soon as SNY showed him before Pete [Alonso]’s home run” during that double header, Abrams said. “I was probably tagged 10 times by people asking to make a shirt design of him. People love something unique and fun and Max is both of them.”
Max Wiener before a game between the Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field on Tuesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Wiener is a lifelong Mets fan whose parents have a 20-pack of season tickets. He has six ostentatiously colored fur coats, buys his clothes at thrift stores, and has been dressing like this since about sophomore year of college, he said. His goal is to radiate positivity, and hopefully experience a championship in his lifetime. His style icons are David Bowie, Rick James and Elton John. The last time he was shown on the scoreboard, Alonso hit another home run.
His favorite coat is the mint green one, but he has a burgundy, purple and yellow one that he wants to wear when it gets colder again.
It was close to 70 degrees on Tuesday, though, “so it’s more of a tracksuit situation,” he said.
“People are like, 'What is this fella going to do in July?' and I’m wondering the same thing,” he said. “Do I have a heat stroke for a little notoriety or am I [comfortably] warm and invisible?”
As for the name – “Call me whatever you want, as long as we win games,” he said.
“It’s so, so funny,” he added. “The other day, a kid came up to me and was like, ‘Mr. Rally Pimp, can I get a picture?’…And I was like, sure, but for the future, it’s Dr. Rally Pimp. I’m trying to banter with a 6-year-old.”
As he’s talking, a fan stops by and asks for a photo, and Wiener happily obliges.
“I’m here for it,” he said. “We’re here to have a good time.”
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
