Hating the Yankees is an act of love

ny Newsday ^ | September 30, 2004 | DAVID MORRIS

[presidio9]

What I hate most about the Yankees is their overwhelming arrogance. And I don't mean the players. Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Mariano Rivera seem like decent guys on TV. No, the arrogance of the Yankees comes across mainly from the game announcers. They're always talking about the great Yankee tradition; how anything other than a win is unacceptable. When Jeter is at bat, they'd mention that even though he's batting .254, say, he's been hitting .375 against Cleveland pitching. When Mike Mussina's on the mound, even though he may have a 4.53 ERA, they'll boast that he's held Minnesota this year to a .230 average. How, though the Yankees collectively have hit .175 against Francisco Cordero, for example, they have hit five home runs against him in his last six outings. And every time the Yankees are behind in the ninth inning - an all too rare occurrence for this baseball aficionado - they'll smugly tell us that the Yankees lead the league in comebacks. ESPN and Fox have access to the same stats but they at least manage to stay neutral.

[Radix]

Being a Bostonian hating Yankees is of course instinctive.

Still, lately there is all this chatter about the Red Sox Yankees rivalry being the greatest in Sports. That is BS. It is not much of a rivalry when one team always wins.

I think that the Celtics Lakers was a better rivalry, but IMHO the Redskins Cowboys is the best rivalry ever despite recent trends.

[IrishBrigade12]

...the happiest moment in my life was the late afternoon homer that Mazeroski hit to beat the Bombers at their own game in 1960...I was a mere 12 years old then, but a more thrilling moment would be hard to pinpoint in the intervening years...

[b4its2late]

Across the country and around the globe are millions of people who probably wake up hoping the Yankees will meet some horrible defeat that day on the diamond.

I'd also venture to say that across the country and around the globe are millions of people who probably wake up hoping the Yankees will beat the snot out of whomever they are playing. The Yankees are my favorite team and my second favorite team is any team that beats the Red Sox.

[b4its2late]

Ping.

[TXBSAFH]

I am not from Boston, my wife is. But I to hate the accursed Yankees like any good sensible, intelligent, Red Sox fan should.;)

[GAGOPSWEEPTOVICTORY]

What I hate most about the Yankees is their overwhelming arrogance. And I don't mean the players. Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Mariano Rivera seem like decent guys on TV. No, the arrogance of the Yankees comes across mainly from the game announcers. They're always talking about the great Yankee tradition; how anything other than a win is unacceptable.

Losing is unacceptable.

That's a big reason why I am a Yankee fan.

They strive and excel for excellence at every turn.

[Alberta's Child]

One of the reasons Yankee-hating is so popular is that the team is from New York -- a place that lots of Americans hate for any number of reasons.

[staytrue]

Another reason to hate the Yankees is that they have an unfair advantage in sports where the playing field is supposed to be level.

If the KC Royals ever assembled a great team, that same team would be the NY Yankees via Steinbrenner's wallet.

This does not seem fair to a lot of people.

I think Jeter, Giambi, and A-rod's salaries combined are higher than the payroll of quite a few teams as a whole.

[Alberta's Child]

The problem with NFL rivalries is that the league's salary cap rules pretty much ensure that the days of long-standing competitive rivalries are over. Nowadays, the odds of any two teams being playoff contenders at the same time in any given season are only about 1 in 3.

Even if I weren't such a big hockey fan I'd have to conclude that the Rangers-Islanders rivalry is the most contentious I've seen. Denis Potvin hasn't played in nearly 20 years, and chants of "Potvin sucks!" still echo from the rafters at Madison Square Garden during these games. Anyone who shouts "Reggie sucks!" at Fenway Park today would look like a complete idiot.

[A Ruckus of Dogs]

HATING THE YANKEES ...

Hah! I honestly thought this was going to be an article on anti-americanism.

[eastsider]

One isn't the loneliest number -- it's the magic number!!!

[presidio9]

chants of "Potvin sucks!" still echo from the rafters at Madison Square Garden during these games.

"Potvin sucks" is not limited to Islanders games. They chant it a Mighty Ducks games.

[Radix]

...the team is from New York -- a place that lots of Americans hate for any number of reasons....

True, but things changed a bit around here after 9-11.

The NFL canceled games that following weekend. The weekend after that the NE Patriots hosted the NY Jets. Joe Andrucci a Patriot player has brothers on the NYC Fire Department and the ceremony held before that game was amazing. The emotions were high, and everyone at that time knew that we were all Americans united.

BTW, the Patiots won that game.

[dangus]

Other cities hate the NY Yankees for the same reason other countries hate the US Yankees: They're bigger, better, and wealthier. People don't want to hear about WHY the Yankees are the dominant ball club. Sure they've got a big TV market; Atlanta's got no competition between Tampa and Baltimore (oops, WASHINGTON!!!), the Atlantic and Houston.

Sure they're in a big city. But why aren't the Mets where the Yankees are? Or the Dodgers? or, say, Baltimore, who has 8 million metro-area fans to themselves for this one last season? (OK, NY is a REALLY big city, but face it, Baseball fans have the same demographics as the Republican party. And NY is not Republican.) Like the US, they've been dealt a good hand. Also like the US, though, they also have excelled because they've played well the hands they are dealt.

Sorry... the announcers are explaining WHY the Yankees win, not trying to be arrogant. If the Yankees are down heading into the 9th, the announcers are only giving a true, good reason to keep watching their programme.

Hey "Old Europe": I got bad news for you: It's the 9th inning, the US is up by a bunch of runs, and it's starting to look like Torre is about to send Mariano out there for a second inning.

As for me, I understand the appeal of rooting for the underdog. The '96 series, when the sports news wrote the Yankees off to get swept by Atlanta, was a lot more fun. As a transplant to DC, I'll look forward to going to many Expos games next year.

(BTW, you don't want to know what "Yankee" meant in 18th century Europe. Let's just say you'd probably be surprised they talked like that.)

[Alberta's Child]

That financial "advantage" is often overestimated, in my opinion. The Yankees' best seasons in the last ten years have been those in which their own home-grown talent (Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettitte, Williams, etc.) and cast-offs from other teams (Boggs, O'Neill, Key) led them to victory.

They haven't won a World Series since they started assembling All-Star teams like they did back in the dismal 1980s. A couple of years ago I predicted that the Yankees would never win a World Series with Jason Giambi on their roster -- and that streak is still going!

[Buck W.]

"Losing is unacceptable.
That's a big reason why I am a Yankee fan.
They strive and excel for excellence at every turn."

Bronx-born dittos!

[Alberta's Child]

True. But they ain't chanting the name of journeyman goaltender Felix Potvin, are they? LOL.

[eastsider]

A couple of years ago I predicted that the Yankees would never win a World Series with Jason Giambi on their roster

Curse of the Giambino ...

[presidio9]

(BTW, you don't want to know what "Yankee" meant in 18th century Europe. Let's just say you'd probably be surprised they talked like that.)

It had to do with the fact that there was something like a 10-1 male to female ratio in the Colonies at the time. Lots of guys yanking doodles.