Now, it Begins.
I am a Red Sox fan, yes. I am also a Yankee Hater. I am well aware that “the rivalry” is overblown, getting old, and all that jazz. I am still never as excited to go to a game as when it is versus the Evil Empire.
Oddly enough, I find most Yankee haters to be annoying and not very baseball savvy. I would never show up to a game yelling “Jeter stinks”, or worse, and I’m always mortified to sit near someone who does. At times, it’s embarrassing to admit that I’m a Yankee hater myself.
I like to think it’s justified because I lived in New York for a year after I graduated. It was painful. I was constantly berated by Yankees fans who couldn’t even name the line up. The day after Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, I was a wreck; I could barely drag myself to work. Some of my particularly unsympathetic coworkers literally taunted me over the company-wide loudspeaker. My boss at the time (as true a Yankees fan as I have ever seen) at least understood my pain and was actually quite sympathetic. Unfortunately, I moved back to Massachusetts in July of 2004, so I couldn’t show them the same courtesy after the greatest comeback in history.
I know it’s all in the past. I know that after 2004, I should have been able to let it go with a little snicker. But I can’t. I am stuck in a Yankee-hating vacuum.
Embarrassment aside, I am pumped for this weekend. For me, the season doesn’t really start until the first Red Sox/Yankees game. I love sitting at a Sox/Yanks game, when you can feel that electricity in the air. I love any Sox player who understands that these games are more than “just another game”.
Let’s get ‘em, guys. True, the Yankee offense is hot right now (especially the newly-minted “Mr. April”), but we’ve been getting great contributions from a whole slew of hitters, and our pitching is far superior.
Stumble it!