The New York Mets are currently in the middle of a brutal ten-game losing streak, and many superstitious fans believe they have found the source of the team’s misfortune. NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani visited Citi Field, and the Mets have not won a single game since. That timing has been hard for some fans to ignore.
A video of the mayor hugging the team’s mascots, Mr. and Mrs. Met, went viral on X and racked up over 4.4 million views. Many fans, some jokingly and some half-seriously, have started calling it the “Mamdani Curse.” The frustration is understandable, as the Mets entered this season with massive postseason hopes and one of the most expensive payrolls in all of professional baseball, reports the Daily Mail.
With star players like Juan Soto in the lineup, fans expected much better results. The offense has struggled to score runs during this ten-game skid, and pressure is growing on manager Carlos Mendoza over his bullpen decisions. One fan on X summed up the mood simply by writing, “Mamdani is hugging all New Yorkers.”
Mayor Mamdani’s sports controversies keep piling up in a short span of time
Not everyone is buying into the curse theory, though. Some fans have pushed back against the narrative, with one supporter arguing, “They had actually lost a game the day before this.” At the end of the day, the results on the field come down to player performance and coaching decisions. Mamdani has also been making headlines beyond sports, as he recently vowed to arrest Israeli PM Netanyahu upon his arrival in New York.
This is not the first time Mayor Mamdani has been pulled into a sports controversy. Ahead of the New York Knicks’ Game 1 matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, the mayor was asked why tickets at Madison Square Garden cost so much more than tickets at the Hawks’ State Farm Arena.
At a news conference, the mayor chose to deflect with a joke. “I would say that I blame Trae Young, and I think it’s always important to blame Trae Young,” he said, according to Fox News. The comment referenced the history between the Knicks and Trae Young, who led the Hawks to a playoff win over New York back in 2021.
However, Young, who now plays as a guard for the Washington Wizards, saw the remarks and fired back on X. He wrote, “Remember what happened the last time the Mayor of that City has my name in his mouth during a time like this. #DontBlameMeWhenItHappensAgain,” along with a laughing, crying emoji and a hand emoji.
It is quite a coincidence that the mayor has been linked to negative sports outcomes in such a short period of time. On the political front, Governor Hochul has largely disagreed with Mamdani on most issues, though she recently backed his plan to tax the wealthy and named Ken Griffin to drive the point home. Whether fans truly believe in a curse or are simply venting frustration, his recent run-ins with the sports world have kept people talking.
For the Mets, the focus needs to return to the field quickly if they want to stop the slide in the standings. The debate over the so-called Mamdani Curse will likely continue until the team finally picks up a win.
Published: Apr 20, 2026 03:15 pm