Sometimes I wonder if it would just be easier to be a Yankees fan…you know,assimilate into the masses,wear the dark navy blue with the interlocked white NY logo,cheer for the winners,the big payroll,the history,the pomp and circumstance.
I grew up in Seattle,and wasn’t much of a Mariners fan until the arrival of Griffey,Jr. and the ’95 team. To be honest,I rooted for the Pirates. I thought the Bonds,Bonilla and Van Slyke outfield was the best thing since sliced bread. They didn’t win a World Series,but I thought they were pretty cool all the same.
But then I realized that it’s important to cheer for the home team. Now I live in Phoenix,and I root for the Diamondbacks. Yes,they’re struggling;yes,D-backs fans were outnumbered when the Yankees came to town a few weeks ago and are challenged for numbers when the Dodgers and Cubs come to town,but when you live six blocks from Chase Field as I do,pay your Arizona taxes and left one town in search of better opportunities in another,I think you have to show some love to the locals.
Of course,I still cheer for the Mariners,I still love Seattle,and I would love nothing more than a World Series between the Mariners and Diamondbacks,and I would be happy regardless who won.
But then again,I watch the All Star Game and wonder,would it be easier to just put on a Yankees hat and join the masses?
Actually,being a Yankee fan is fun.
I’ve lived through to two longest droughts in Yankees history. And I’ve always gone to games and support the team. The history of the club is special. It is American. It is baseball. And that’s what you are part of when you become a Yanks fan. Pride. Tradition. Excellence.
The hard part is constantly countering the people who claim that they “buy”championships.
Gosh knows their free agent acquisitions haven’t always worked out.
But the Yankees have a formula of home-grown talent mixed with shrewd trades and smart free agent purchases. They are what a team of their class and income SHOULD BE. They fill stadiums every where they go. So baseball benefits. If they have to play the bad guys….well,so be it.
The truth is this:There are plenty of big-market teams who spend and spend and spend and don’t have get the bad reputation the Yanks unfortunately get (and,quite frankly,they handle their stature in a professional manner,especially when you compare them to the scandals the Mets have had of late).
The Dodgers,Mets,both Chicago’s,the Angels…the Red Sox spend like crazy. All these teams have the ability to spend. None of them do it well.
So why do the Yankees get singled out?
Because they win consistently?
Whatever.
I’d rather be a Yanks fan than anything else.