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Yankees Suck.
Author: TriSec    Date: 11/07/2009 13:59:43

And I really and truly mean that from the bottom of my heart.

Or do I?



So the Yankees won another World Series, for #27. I heard on the radio earlier in the week that that's the most titles of any team in all of North American sport. (I didn't check, though.)

So they're pretty succesful, and I guess they don't really suck after all.



No, the Yankees Suck because they're from New York, right?

Well, maybe that's a little regional thing going on, too. Boston used to be the most important city in the colonies, and the largest seaport in North America. Over time, that's eroded too, and more days than not, Boston feels a little tired and overlooked. I'd have to guess there's a little jealousy going on there. Sure, Boston is still America's intellectual capitol, but that's hardly glamorous, is it?

Does this happen on the West Coast? Maybe their ancient crosstown rivals still have a reason to hate them, but with the Dodgers and the Giants 3,000 miles away and 50 years removed from New York, that seems a little farfetched.

Besides, Boston is really known for the "Yankees Suck" chant. Before 2004, you heard it everywhere. It didn't matter who the Sox were playing. Hell, it didn't even matter if it was a baseball game or not; all somebody had to do was start it and off it went. That all stopped 5 Octobers ago. (Which is a good thing, IMHO. The "19-18" chant New Yorkers always used to taunt us with had that big brother, "neener-neener-neener!" quality to it. It was a taunt, and never felt mean. Our chant did.)



But let's think about this for a moment. What makes a team 'hated'? The Yankees are one example, but how about other sports? I happen to think we've got a pretty decent football team in these parts, but you folks around the country bear the same level of animosity towards the Patriots these days. Why is that, because we won Superbowls? Because Bill Belicheck is an arrogant bastard? Because Tom Brady is so pretty? Because of SpyGate? (And don't forget, there were two spy scandals. The Rams one was eventually proven to be a hoax, but the Jets almost certainly happened.) Why is all of that any different than what I think of the Yankees?

Boston, I think, might have more in common with New York than we care to admit...but it's via another sport. Even though they lost to the Suns last night, our roundball team is off to a blazing 6-1 start, which is good for the best record in the league already.

In 50 plus years of NBA history, how often has Boston had the best record in the league? How many championships have the Celtics won? How arrogant was Red Auerbach, and how much trickery and outright rule-bending happened here on the hallowed parquet? (And go back to 1995; the Garden was old and decrepit and we all hated it, but there was a lot of anger and sadness when the new arena was built; it just wasn't the same. I never even saw the House that Ruth built, but I imagine New Yorkers feel the same way.)

The Celtics and the Yankees are the same; they just play different sports. Ask yourself this question: "Which teams consider it a failed season if they don't win the championship?"

I believe there are only two. The New York Yankees....and the Boston Celtics.



So all of this has me a touch curious. In this day and age of a mobile society, is anyone still loyal to their "hometown team"? Do you follow teams from other cities? And who do you really and truly hate? There is a saying around Fenway Park, "My two favorite teams are the Sox and whoever is playing the Yankees"...do you feel that way about any other team or city, and why?








 

7 comments (Latest Comment: 11/08/2009 04:28:36 by BobR)
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