I Will Hate the Yankees No More Forever
Featured, Sports — By Scott Appleman on November 6, 2009 at 12:00 am
I am tired of hating the Yankees. The Phillies have lost. Chase Utley has lost. Cliff Lee has lost. Ryan Howard has lost. It is the Yankees who say yes or no. Those who tried to defeat the Yankees have lost.
It is baseball and we have no salary cap. The little teams are unable to keep up. The smaller markets, some of them, have traded those players they will not be able to keep and have no stars, no legends. No one knows when they will win again—perhaps never. I want to turn on a baseball game to look for my favorite players and see how many I can find. Perhaps I will find them among the Yankees.
Hear me, baseball fans. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will hate the Yankees no more forever.
(Editor’s Note: Big mistake here…for most of the morning, this article was credited to Jordan Green. In reality, it was written by Scott Appleman. Our apologies!)
9 Comments
Jordan,
Remember that fateful fall of 2004. The Red Sox beat the Yankees. Against all odds.
Living in New York now it’s tempting for me to not hate the Yankees. And maybe my hatred has dulled. But whenever I think back to that feeling of my underdog Sox rising up to take on the establishment Yankees, well, it makes me feel, almost, patriotic somehow.
I’m not advocating hatred, I guess, so much as a continuance of that narrative that, to me, makes baseball great. And that story needs a bad guy. And sometimes the bad guy wins.
@Fitz:
Two things:
1) I actually didn’t write this article…it was accidentally credited to me. The real writer was Scott Appleman.
2) Most of my vitriol is now focused on Boston teams, who have been one the most fortunate fan bases in history the last few years, yet Bill Simmons still complains about the Buckner error in his new basketball book. And “against all odds” is being generous. The Marlins winning the World Series is against all odds, particularly considering Boston’s towering payroll.
I’m not tired of despising them yet. Maybe someday, but not yet.
Makes me happy that the NHL has a salary cap. It has sure made my beloved hockey more competitive!
The yankees are a love/hate team for me
Love: Jeter, Posada, Rivera, Pettite, Matsui
Hate: a A-roid, Cano, Swisher
Disclaimer: the top line guys were on my fantasy team, the ‘hated’ weren’t…
It’s funny. I almost find myself regretting being a life-long Yankees fan. It’s not so much a feeling of guilt, but a feeling of disappointment in a franchise that seems to have bought out the entire league and sucked the meaning of its own sport out from the fans. As I think about the Yankees fans I sometimes see at a game in NY, I often wonder if they’re more excited about the history of the Yankees and the old-timers, instead of really cheering on the players on the field in front of them who make more money than most fans will see in their lifetime. This article, much like my time in Yankee Stadium (new and old), is making me think and reflect on what it is to be a Yankees fan.
Oh, and steve, I have to ask why Pettite made it onto your “Love” list? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think he’s great pitcher and he was clutch in the WS. Still, he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs, no? According to your post, doesn’t he belong with “A-roid?” Just a thought…
I give Pettitte credit for actually owning up to it when confronted. His apology may not have been perfect, but it was much more genuine than that of others who have done roids.
I had a hard time during this Series because I don’t want to see the Yankees win (for all the reasons listed above, and more). But also I couldn’t stand to see the Phillie fans happy. After all, they are the same folks who are Eagles fans. I can’t see myself wanting them to have a happy ending. these are the same folks who cheered when it looked like Michael Irvin was paralyzed. They are some of the most ridiculous fans in the history of American sports.
Thankfully, the Cowboys ruined the Eagles’ fans’ day yesterday.