Filed under: Boston Red Sox
Georgey is up to his old antics again. This time, not even a week into Spring Training, the temperamental and often volatile Yankees’ Boss is playing psychic, pompously declaring that the Yankees are going to win the World Series in 2006. “We’re going to win it this year,” Steinbrenner grandiloquently expressed Wednesday. “We’re going after it.”
The second statement isn’t all that prophetic considering the $220 million payroll pretty much spells out the fact that George and the Yankees organization is “going after it.” However the first statement is what ruffles my feathers a little bit. Yeah I understand that, similar to our beloved left fielder, this is probably just another example of “George being George” and perhaps I should pay it about as much attention as a Manny trade demand. But it still bothers me. And the more I think about it, the more it really bothers me.
Maybe its just my undying abhorrence with anything Yankee but if I were a Red Sox player I would pin this up in the locker room. Just like in any sporting event from MIAA Division 6 Water Polo to the NFL SuperBowl, goading quotes from the opponent can serve as a great motivation to bring forth your most competitive game. In the greatest rivalry in sports, it shouldn’t be any different.
I am sure that some people, including sports fans from other cities and even some Red Sox players themselves, are probably sick of hearing about the Sox-Yankees and are probably thinking “great, here we go again” with less than entertained scowls on their faces. But you never know, this subtle but obnoxious quote may serve as an adequate reason to get out on the field during one of the dog days of August.
And for many Boston fans, myself including, we really don’t need any or snide comments or specific reason to get amped for the Red Sox, particularly when they are playing against the Yankees. And we certainly don’t need any more reason to hate them. I can think of 40 roster reason and 26 pieces of jewelry to start. And that’s not even including the 3,276 Yankee fans I encounter each season who constantly feel the need to jam these reasons in my face simply because I cheer for my team. Judging from this, you would think that I would be as ambitious to bury the rivalry myself.
However it just might be impossible for me to do this. For something that has been ingrained in my head for so long, something I have been raised to do, something I have grown up with and has become part of my culture, religion, and creed, it probably is impossible to abandon now. And despite the unwanted anger, hatred, and disgust that continually brews perennially throughout each April to October, this something has become a part of who I am, part of my identity. Which is why George’s comments make me so mad. And which is also why, although it might not be the Red Sox clubhouse, this Steinbrenner excerpt will get posted up by my computer. Perhaps in the dog days of August, it will help me type faster, cheer louder, and throw my remote across the room harder. All part and parcel of being an avid Red Sox fan I suppose.
Yankees Suck.
theaveragefan@bostonprosports.com
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