Hank Steinbrenner's Mouth Writes Yet Another Check

It hasn’t been very long, but I am already enjoying Hank Steinbrenner’s reign with the New York Yankees.  In recent years, his father had become much quieter, and had not really subjected the public to quotes ranging from controversial to pure idiotic.  Well, not to worry, because his son Hank is more than making up for lost time. 

And he has done it again.  This from the New York Times' Play Magazine: “For his part, Hank betrays no worry about the competition in the American League, whether it’s the Cleveland Indians, who eliminated the Yankees last year; the Detroit Tigers, who added Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis this winter; or, above all, the Red Sox, who have not only won the World Series twice in the last four years but are arguably becoming a national phenomenon. ‘Red Sox Nation?’ Hank says. ‘What a bunch of [expletive] that is. That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans. Go anywhere in America and you won’t see Red Sox hats and jackets, you’ll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We’re going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.’”

Now, I will be the first to admit, that the Red Sox have gone to never before seen levels in terms of their marketing of the organization, and I at times find the Red Sox as an organization rather annoying in how they advertise anything anywhere and anytime.  And of course Red Sox Nation is a term the Red Sox have seized upon, and charge money to fans if they want to be an official member of Red Sox Nation. 

But is it me, or is Hank missing the point of what the term “Red Sox Nation” means?  The phrase isn't "This is a Red Sox nation," but it is "Red Sox Nation."  I never took it to mean that this country is a Red Sox nation.  It is simply a term that has come to identify a fan base that is much more than people in the Boston area, and continues to grow not only throughout Massachusetts and New England, but across the country.  Watch a Red Sox road game in almost any park, and almost every game you cannot help but notice the number of Sox fans in attendance.  

A small amount of research uncovers that the term was actually first used by a writer for The Boston Globe in 1986 when discussing the fan bases of the Red Sox and New York Mets in Connecticut during the World Series.

Red Sox nation isn’t like saying the Cowboys are America’s team.  Hank obviously believes this is a pinstriped country.  Are the Yankees more popular across the country than the Red Sox?  Maybe they are.  But who really cares? 

With the amount of money poured into the Red Sox and Yankees, winning is what matters most.  Right now, the Sox are on top with two World Series championships in the last four years.   Someone needs to tell Hank he is the new kid on the block, and shooting your mouth off seemingly every time you are asked a question when you have accomplished nothing is the height of obnoxiousness. 

Wait until you win something, then go right ahead I say.  Until then, maybe Hank should learn the power of the no comment.  The time he saves not offering illogical responses to reporters questions meant to bait him, is all the more tmie he can spend watching Jennifer Love Hewitt and the Ghost Whisperer.