The New York Mets have had a resurgent season. After being a laughing stock in 2023 and a dreadful start to the 2024 season, they have turned things around this summer, now chasing the third Wild Card spot in the National League postseason race.
While there are many on-field explanations for this turnaround, perhaps the most intriguing thing about the Mets’ season has been the carousel of characters surrounding and supporting the team. Jose Iglesias’ emerging pop-star career gave the team a boost, as did the period when Grimace took over Queens. We spoke to another driving force of the Mets’ incredible vibes in 2024, the Rally Pimp himself, Max Wiener.
Wiener is a comedian, known among Mets fans as the “Rally Pimp” due to his long, curly hair and exotic, multi-faceted outfits he wears to games. These outfits can range from a giant parka and sunglasses to a tracksuit and possibly a real Mets-branded gold chain.
On how he developed his authentic style, Wiener said, “It took years for me to finally develop into the person that I am now. The clothes and everything all really started to happen in college. It’s a process, and finding yourself is not easy. I’m a pretty lucky individual that it happened at all…I’m still in the process, I’m not stopping.”
Wiener’s unmistakable style has made him a fixture at Citi Field, most prominently when the Mets began to turn things around in 2024. As a man raised to love his mom’s Mets and hate his dad’s Yankees, the moment was surreal.
“It was so, so cool. I loved how people were genuinely asking me questions about the Mets,” Wiener said. “If this happened to me when I went to a Brewers game and I was the Brewers’ Rally Pimp, I wouldn’t be as excited. But, it’s literally my favorite sports team ever. I get to enjoy it more. I care so much more now.”
Wiener even received some recognition from the best booth in baseball.
“Initially it was so exciting,” he said. “I remember just getting so many texts that I was on SNY and people were like, ‘Keith [Hernandez] is talking about you.’ It was so surreal. It was so cool for people to take genuine interest and to want to find out more about me.”
Wiener’s rise among Mets cult heroes immediately preceded the explosion that was Grimace in June 2024. Despite Grimace arguably stealing Wiener’s thunder, he harbors no resentment toward the Mcdonalds’ purple entity.
“The man’s a national icon,” Wiener said. “I was so happy that the Mets were winning, I didn’t really care who it had to do with it…It was so Mets.”
“So Mets” is an oddly general and yet specific statement. If you are a lifelong Mets fan like Max, you know exactly what it means.
“If you’ve been a Mets fan your whole life, like I have, all you know is pain,” Wiener jested. “It makes you cherish the little moments so much more because they’re so few and far between.”
Wiener was raised in a house divided by sports lines. His mother is where he gets his Mets fandom from, being that her entire side of the family is Mets fans. His father, however, is from the Bronx. This did not stop Wiener from making clear his disdain for the Yankees.
“Any argument you had with a Yankees fan you had growing up, all you would hear is ‘27 rings,’” Wiener recalled. “No one cares that you won the World Series in 1932. They have a boring stadium…Also, let them have beards.”
Wiener has learned to see the funny side, both with the Mets and in life in general: “You have to develop this edge and this sense of humor as a Mets fan because it’s not going to be fun. Comedically, there’s no funnier team than the New York Mets.”
Comedy comes relatively naturally to Wiener, but comedy about the Mets is just part of life.
“I could write bits about the Mets forever.,” he asserted. “Literally, because I’ve been doing them conversationally with my uncle for the past 12 years.”
Wiener’s outlook on the Mets is one forged in sports trauma. His message isn’t one of ambition. There is no attempt to motivate players or the organization. He simply wants to enjoy the ride.
“At the end of the day, you can’t really get too negative,” he said. “Stay chill, realize that we’ve got games to play, there’s always something to look forward to, and cool guys wear pink.”
His outlook on his comedy is similar: “Have your own take on things. If I think something’s funny I’m gonna try it.”
Sports fans often see superfans go viral and gain notoriety through negativity over their team. Wiener, despite rooting for an organization that has given him little to cheer for, is bringing the positive vibes.
Wiener is a New Yorker through and through, and in speaking about his inspiration, made sure to cite the places he loves that make New York what it is.
“Go to photography galleries, go to small art galleries,” he implored. “You can walk into Yancy Richardson or Perrotin on Orchard Street. There’s no shortage of talented people in this city.”
Wiener himself is no exception to that rule.
Despite being very bold in his fashion and stand-up, Wiener’s comedy roots are much more humble.
“I really got inspired through going to camp, and the counselors I had were comedic heroes…They were heroes for this little, tiny community and I was like, ‘I want that.’”
Based on what he has meant to Mets fans in 2024, I think it’s safe to say “mission accomplished.”
He is the hero that Mets fans deserve, but now that the team is winning, maybe not the one it needs this instant. The vibes are not bad with the Mets right now, but when things inevitably turn, seek out the Rally Pimp.
His hilarious stand-up comedy and man-on-the-street style interviews with Mets fans can be found on his Instagram (@maxisawiener). You’ll probably see him at a Mets game, he’s hard to miss.
For more on Max Wiener and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
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