Yankees Suck*

(Photo changed when I realized I originally missed an opportunity to use a relevant photo of Kyle!)

It seems like at least once a year some holier than thou writer comes along and tells Red Sox fan how stupid the “Yankees Suck” chant is and how it should be ‘retired’. This year, Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe takes a shot at it.

Kevin Cullen also admits to watching “Sox Appeal” so his ability to make good judgment calls is immediately called into question. If you watch that show you pretty much deserve to have people chant “Kevin Cullen Sucks” at you. (Especially since he thinks not joining in during “Sweet Caroline” is deserving of some badge of honor. Way to be a wet blanket.)

Here’s the thing, and I’ve written this, oh, about a thousand times since I started this blog and have discussed it with people even more. I’m not a big fan of ‘the chant’. You won’t hear joining in when it starts (unlike “Sweet Caroline” which I can usually be found singing) and I’ve actually told people at Fenway to STFU when they start it (but, really, only when the Sox aren’t playing the Yankees). But the FACT of the matter is, the “Yankees Suck” chant doesn’t mean “the Yankees are a horrible team”. Anyone who thinks that either doesn’t follow baseball or takes the world much too literally. “Yankees Suck” is shortened version of “Good God I hate the Yankees and their obnoxious fans and big-mouthed owner” or some other similar phrase. Always has been. (Hell, back in the late 70s/early 80s, my uncle wore a t-shirt that read “Yankees Inhale Deeply”. Took me a while to figure it out. But when I did, even back then, I “got” it. The Yankees are the rival team and we think they “suck”. I have no problem with this.

Suddenly, I’m getting a feeling of deja vu. I didn’t go back and look through my archives, but I feel like I wrote something similar to what I’m about to write last year. The real problem I have with Cullen’s piece is that it reeks of “haven’t been to Fenway in a while but the Yankees are in town and it’s a good time to get my byline seen”. See, since 2004 but ESPECIALLY since 2007, you hear the chant much less at Red Sox games. This year, I’ve noticed it only at really specific times. Like when some idiot is getting thrown out of a game wearing Yankees gear (which happens more than you think at games where the Yankees AREN’T in town) or if the scoreboard reflects a Yankees loss. But the truly interesting part about when the chant starts now is that more people seem to either ignore it or cheer it down. It’s happened a lot, especially this year, and I even heard it happen at the last Yankees series I attended.

I also sense that Mr. Cullen is a secret Yankees fan after reading this particularly sappy (and, to me, misguided) reasoning:

But here’s the critical difference: I respect the Yankees, and I’ve taught my sons to do so, too. They are 14 and 11, love baseball, and know that Derek Jeter plays the game as well and as hard as anyone has. If I were picking sides in the schoolyard, Jeter is the guy I’d pick first.

If you watch him in the on-deck circle at Fenway, Jeter turns and talks to the kids. He’s one of the few players who seem to comprehend how lucky he is to be playing a game and making millions doing it. He’s class, all the way, and he’s the Yankees captain, epitomizes them as a team, and the hell with the Boss, this is Jeter’s team.

So when you say the Yankees suck, you’re saying Derek Jeter sucks, which is preposterous.

A-Rod? Well, that’s another story, and I don’t want to go there because it kind of ruins my whole thesis.

Jeter certainly isn’t the Anti-Christ, but anyone who watches baseball (and doesn’t bleed Yankees blue) will tell you that “overrated” isn’t alway misused when discussing him. I’m sure he’s a perfectly nice guy. But he can also be snarky (he is of the “we don’t play to win the Wild Card” quote from a few years back) and he’s also a bit selfish. “NO!” you say, “not Captain Intangibles/Fistpump!” Hmm…let’s see, the Yankees have, arguably, the best shortstop in baseball on their team and WHAT position does he play? Third base. And WHY? Because Jeter couldn’t get past his own ego. (Oh and that “Captain” stuff? Where was the Captain when ARod was getting killed by the fans and the media a couple of years ago? His quote was that he would’t tell the fans what to do. Of course, he came out after that and demanded the fans stop booing Giambi. He’s quite the guy to respect, that Derek Jeter.)

And speaking of ARod? I make it well-known that I have no love for him and think he’s a ball-slapping, wife-cheating, whack job. But he’s an amazing player. So if the high and mighty Mr. Cullen is trying to teach his kids to respect the game, he might want to start with one of the best players they might ever see play the game.

Me? I’m a hypocrite. I know how fantastic ARod is yet I don’t want him anywhere near my team. Don’t care. You want to boo him, go right ahead. I’m hoping people start singing “Like a Virgin” every time he’s up at bat this weekend.

Cullen probably is too, but he doesn’t get into that because it “ruins his thesis” or, more specifically, reveals that everything he wrote is bunk. Go back to 2003, Mr. Cullen, where your “thesis” would be more relevant.

*Apparently, Bronson thinks they do. Dude doesn NOT want to get traded…not even to the ‘mighty’ Yankees. Take that, Mystique and Aura, and shove it up your asses.

Day off, Yankees in town for the weekend and Papi back with the team. Buckle up, folks, because Cullen’s annoying piece is only the beginning – the Globe has CHB on the Red Sox beat an awful lot lately so we have THAT to look forward to. 🙁

EDITED TO ADD: Crystal makes a great point in today’s comments about the Red Sox players and how Cullen could maybe teach his kid to respect THEM instead of looking toward the Bronx. 🙂 Way to go, Crystal!