I know it is football season but there is magic in the air of four Major League cities. While the Cubs look to advance to their first Fall Classic in almost a century, the Boston Red Sox have renewed their rivalry with the hated Yankees of New York. Their series is tied and over the weekend their was a bench clearing brawl as well as the beat down on a grounds crew worker in the Yankees bullpen!
While my beloved Braves once again fell short of a dance with destiny, I will continue to watch every pitch of the postseason. Why? Well, rumor has it that I am addicted to sports but I am inclined to believe that it's because the Yankees are still in it so I must do my part by rooting AGAINST them. You see, I hate the Yankees. I have hated the Yankees for as long as I can remember. Growing up I can remember trading away good (didn't realize they were until now) bubble gum cards because they were Yankees. The ones that I couldn't trade were used on my bike to give it that "motorcycle" sound, as it was jammed in the spokes of my tires. I am not sure when it started or from where it started by my Yankee hatred has been around for a long while and it's hard to believe that is going anywhere.
I grew up in a Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies home and with the advent of the Superstation to our home, I was instantly a Braves fan. I loved Dale Murphy so much that I contemplated becoming a Mormon in hopes that Dale would somehow seek me out in Central Pennsylvania to play catch. My dad wasn't a huge baseball guy but he was definitely a Pirates fan. I can remember breaking his thumb once while he was doing his voluntary catching duties for me. He never said anything but later my mom told me that he would be on the shelf for a while. About a week later, dad was out there with a catcher's mitt that my coach has given us. My dad is so tough that I swear he could have caught a Rob Dibble fastball without a glove. My brother was a Pirate and a Phillie fan for a while but then later realized that the Phillies were from the same place as the Eagles and that just wasn't cool. I have to believe that the seeds of hatred for the Yankees were planted in Little League. There was a kid on another team who called himself "Donnie Baseball" but unlike the original, Don Mattingly; this kid was just a thug with a loud mouth with no skills. Once I was pitching in a game and intentionally threw at him (kids, this is bad). I wonder where that kid is today? My guess? ....prison.
Most people think my hatred for the Yankees is due to the fact that they beat up on the Braves or because they are so good. To a point, yes. But moreover the reason is that they always seem to be able to buy anyone they want and never seem to do anything wrong. Their fans are among the lowest in terms of class (Eagles fans are in the same league). The Yankees are a product of a lack of salary cap restrictions. They are greedy and do little to make Major League Baseball a better organization. I have tried for years with limited success to put the whammy on the Yankees and their quest for another title. The NFL has it right, despite what many fans think, in that those Super Bowl runs like the Bills had a pretty much a thing of the past due to the parity in the league. Parity is a good thing for the teams and the fans of all the teams. Until Major League Baseball takes the same approach, the Yankees and their fans will continue to book playoff tickets in the spring and the MLB front office will banter about the contraction of one or more established "small market" teams. I hate the Yankees.
Well, that's it from the Cheap Seats for this week. As for me, I will be having a few cold ones while rooting for the Red Sox to beat those damned Yankees and for the Cubs to win it all and then proceed to destroy their own city. Ah, nothing says "We are the Champions" like overturned cars, fires and looting!
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