5 Reasons I Love The Yankees

Five Reasons I Love The Yankees.

 Yesterday I ran into a blog on WordPress, “Five Reasons I Love the Yankees.” Naturally, it got me thinking, and, being an inveterate list-maker, I had to do my own. Here goes.

1. Commitment to Excellence

Is there anything more inspiring than witnessing a person or, in this case, an entire team, that will not settle for average, or even just good, but consistently aspires for the top. While I’ve always thought it’s a shame the guys are made to feel like failures if they don’t win the World Series – a trip Georgie S. laid on them – it does encourage fantastic baseball. They are a pleasure and a joy to behold.

2. Heart

Even with GS hammering away at them, they’ve always managed to keep their hearts, to treat one another with love and respect, to be there for each other, and to give off a certain vibe that can’t be missed. The bottom-line love they feel for one another was evident when, for instance, A-Rod was nailed for taking steroids. His press conference was about as lame-ass as you can get – yet sitting loyally in the audience were Rivera, Jeter, and Posada, the latter looking pretty disgusted. And yet, later on, Posada told a reporter, “Alex is my teammate and Alex is going to be my friend forever.” 

3. History

As everyone knows, the Yankees are drenched in baseball history and significance. In addition to their own history,  they’re part of mine: I grew up taking it for granted that everyone I knew was a Yankee fan; that’s just the way the world was arranged. My father took me and my siblings to several games, but, alas, I was too young to remember them now. I do remember listening to their games on my transistor radio a little bit later on.

4. The Holy Trio

Those three guys who’ve been together for 16 seasons – Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada – are, together and individually, genuinely good people who not only play excellent baseball, but have ethical integrity. If I ever learned one of them was on ‘roids I’d probably have to hang myself; thank the baseball gods I don’t think this is likely to occur.

All three give generously of their time and selves to all kinds of charitable organizations.   Rivera spends most of the off-season in his native Panama, where he helped open two after-school programs to give young people access to computers, and helped finance construction of a new elementary school. When Posada’s son was born with craniosynostosis, he founded an organization to raise funds for research. And Derek Jeter, when he was merely 22, started his own group for kids (“Jeter Leaders”).

5. Winning

I don’t get to be on the winning side of life all that often. Rare is the politician I consider honest enough for me to wholeheartedly support, so my favored candidates usually lose elections. I’m in disagreement with many U.S. policies and do not share most American values/behavior/ assumptions. I’ve never won a contest. As a writer I live with constant insult: for every acceptance of my work I get ten rejections.

I’m not complaining, just pointing out that by being a Yankee fan I finally get to win --  a lot.  I see what my son goes through as a Mets fan, and no way would I want to follow that kind of team. Even if they weren’t in my blood, I would have chosen the New York Yankees.  Say what you will about their money and their corrupt  owner, I don’t give a damn. I’m sticking with the winners – and I’ve got the right: after all, I was BORN IN THE BRONX!