She’s a Dodgers fan. He’s a Giants fan. Can their love survive the NLDS?
Griselda Martin was swiping through the Hinge dating app when a profile caught her eye. She was excited to finally be matched with someone who loved baseball as much as she did. After being in relationships where she couldn’t share the love of the sport, this was a welcome change.
“Baseball is a huge part of my life,” said the 30-year-old self-described “die-hard Dodgers fan.”
She felt relieved. “We’re going to be able to watch games together.”
It was only until they began texting off the app did they realize they were both rooting for rival teams. “I’m not going to lie, at first I was like, ‘shoot, I don’t know if this is going to work out’ that’s tough. I don’t know if I could ever date a Giants fan,” she said.
We asked readers who live in a divided house to tell us how they’re coping with the Dodgers or Giants fan in their life.
Martin felt torn. She met someone she can watch games with, but also someone who could never join rooting for the boys in blue. “Half happy, half disappointed,”Martin said.
Despite the unmistakable tension as the National League Division Series between the San Francisco Giants and Dodgers kicks off, Martin is quick to credit their maturity and their mutual love of baseball as key in their relationship’s success: “You have to put your differences aside.”
They had plans on watching Game 1 at a restaurant in Orange County.
Maryanna Solis, on the other hand, still didn’t know where she and her husband, Michael, were going to watch Game 1.
Maryanna and Michael first met through his brother, a high school friend of Solis. The signs were there. When they met, she teased him for wearing a 49ers hat, but bonded over their mutual love of the Lakers. She assumed he loved the Dodgers.
Then she finally asked.
“He was so offended,” she said. “I’ll never forget the face he gave me. That dirty look he gave me when I asked if he was a Dodger fan. It should have been a deal-breaker right then and there.”
The clash between baseball rivals reflects a broader competition between north and south.
When the Astros eliminated the Dodgers in the 2017 World Series, she cried. When Chris Taylor hit a walk-off home run in the wild-card game on Wednesday, he looked at Solis with a deadpan look and explained they wouldn’t be able to watch the NLDS together.
“I know,” Solis said. “I’ve already thought about that.”
They now have Millie, a 15-month old baby girl who had a Giants onesie before she was even born. The family has been to three Giants-Dodgers games, to which Millie has worn a Giants jersey each time. The Giants have also won each time.
They have made their marriage work by setting boundaries and staying respectful, Solis said. They love baseball, but they love each other more. “As passionate and hardcore as we are about our teams, our relationship is more important.”
Wherever they watch tonight’s game, Millie will wear her Giants onesie.
They still have the Lakers.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
