The Best Man Won
October 21st, 2004
When the Dodgers lost, at home, to the Cardinals and were eliminated from the Division Series, they took the field after the game and shook the hands of the team that defeated them. Very classy move. And in the same spirit, I will admit that the Red Sox deserve this one. (I will also remind you that I predicted it, and I didn’t even think it would make it to seven games.)
If it’s true that “[t]o fans of all other baseball teams, the Yankees and their fans appear much as Americans appear to the citizens of all other nations — spoiled with obscene prosperity that they then, adding insult to injury, proceed not merely to enjoy, but to expect, at all costs,” then surely we can allow for the possibility that a Yankees fan, like an American, could be innocent of the stereotypes imposed by others. In the case of international relations, not every American is ugly, and in the case of baseball, not every Yankee fan is a bad sport.
I will, however, be rooting for which ever team the Sox end up playing in the World Series.
[Update: Check out the local press headlines!]
October 21st, 2004 at 9:36 am
I actually watched the last couple of innings. I was shocked by the people who threw foul balls back onto the field from the upper seats. That’s really not cool and there’s no excusing that kind of behavior. I’m not that invested, but hey, even I wanted the Sox to win.
October 21st, 2004 at 9:37 am
Yeah, but there are fans like that in every city.
October 21st, 2004 at 10:33 am
And they’re usually fueled by lots and lots of beer…
October 21st, 2004 at 11:03 am
I’m amazed by all of the closet Red Sox fans coming out to celebrate this one. Geez, act like you’ve been there before…(oh, wait). Anyway, tough one LTR, but this will just open Georgie’s pocket a little wider so that next year all 25 players on the roster must have played in at least 3 all-star games. Actually, my favorite part of the loss, aside from it just being the Yankees that lost, was seeing that a-hole Kevin Brown get tagged with it.
And LTR, because you were at least cheering for the Braves in the first round, my sympathies to you on this one.
October 21st, 2004 at 11:49 am
I think Philly’s got the rep nailed down for toughest fans– they’ve thrown batteries there, and booed Santa Claus.
October 21st, 2004 at 11:58 am
And don’t forget Detroit fans, who trashed the city after they won the 1984 World Series. And Chicago fans, who jumped on the field to beat up an ump last year. Etc. etc.
October 21st, 2004 at 2:05 pm
Obviously there’s lots of sports hooligan behavior I don’t know about, since I’m not a devoted sports fan. I guess I just can’t bring myself to be invested too heavily - to take on the heartbreak that can come with being a fan. Of course, maybe it was child abuse that I wasn’t raised to be a fan - although I do follow tennis. Just not obsessively, as I get angsty just watching the Grand Slams.
October 21st, 2004 at 2:54 pm
Trust me, Lady C., I often wish I were raised to be a fan of something less stressful, like competitive Scrabble or Lumberjacking, though I guess everything has a stress factor once you become a fan(atic).