A regular came by today I hadn't seen in a while and we were talking about how the Red Sox are out spending the Yankees this year. The evil empire has always outspent every other team and it appears they're scaling back. Who can blame them after Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano and A-Rod. What has it gotten them? Well, they haven't won a World Series this millennium; maybe the Yanks are revisiting how to build a team.
I really believe the Yankees are due for an implosion this year. The Yankees are going to fall victim to their own excesses in 2007. With a string of failed free agent signings and a pitching staff that can't measure up to the Red Sox, they will be lucky to come in second place in 2007. Mariano Rivera is griping about his contract and it isn't even spring training yet, Joe Torre is showing signs of being frustrated, A-Rod is on TV saying the love is gone between him and Jeter and Andy Petit won't live up to his legacy. While the Yankees will have a powerful batting line up, they won't be able to close the deal as in years past.
I predict A-Rod will be dealt by the trading deadline, Joe Torre will be fired and Petit will be on the DL. Red Sox take the AL East by 4 or 5 games.
Back to my customer: He has a son-in-law who is a Yankee fan living in Vermont. Poor deluded man. He apparently gets a lot of grief from just about everyone in his life. I intend to pile on here! We started chatting about how we treat Yankee fans. Personally, I grew up with the "old" Red Sox: break yer heart every time. Yankee fans were a constant source of pain and harassment-their arrogance and superior attitude were exceeded only by the success of their team. Thank God that era is over and my children won't have to grow up with the same inferiority complex that plagued me through my fortieth year.
So I was telling this customer how I treat Yankee fans these days. Customers wearing Yankee apparel must pay a two dollar surcharge for their meals and be subject to any abuse I hurl their way while serving up their delicious dogs. A boy at my daughter's middle school actually trashed his Yankee hat in favor of a Red Sox hat because he got tired of me calling him out when I was picking her up from school; his dad thanked me at a school concert for doing what he had been unable to do! Then there was the kid who wore a Yankee hat to his first practice as a member of my Little League team-after he finished the 5 laps around the field I made him run, he swore he'd never wear the hat to practice again (he didn't). And there's the bag boy at the local market who always wears a Yankee hat-I asked to speak to the manager and the manager said we could take him out back and rough him up a bit. When I see someone wearing a Yankee hat at our beach, I tell them they need to remove it-"club rules." My customer's son in law was told by his boss not to wear his Yankee hat to work if he wanted to keep his job!
The collective consciousness of Red Sox Nation is getting its revenge for years of abuse and we're not shy about letting our feelings be known. I don't intend to let up on Yankee fans-at least not in this millennium.
Harrassing Yankee Fans
How a Red Sox Fan Got Religion
I read the news of Keith Foulke's retirement the other day with a wistful feeling. He will forever be remembered by me as the guy who made "THE out." When I heard the news, I began thinking back to those magical, sleep deprived days at the tail end of October, 2004.
Since today is Sunday, I spent about an hour and a half at church this morning; 1 hour for Mass and a half hour munching bagels and sipping coffee in the church basement afterwards. Like many Catholics, I was at one point in my life reluctant to go to Church-I viewed it as a chore or obligation. That all changed on October 17, 2004. You see on October 16, 2004 the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox in game three of the American League Championship Series. Actually, they destroyed them 19 to 8 (and the game wasn't as close as the score indicates). There was no joy in Red Sox Nation on Sunday October 17, 2004. The general mood was one of despair and resignation to the fact that our Sox were breaking our hearts once again. My then 10 year old son kept asking me on the way to church that morning if it was at all possible for the Sox to come back and win it-my answer was yes, it's possible but not probable. I suggested we all pray extra hard for the Red Sox.
I don't know if I was especially reflective or morose, but the Gospel that morning was from Exodus 17 Water From The Rock:
Exodus 17: 8 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. 9 Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."
10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
Father G. read the Gospel and proceded with his usual interpretations. He noted that in order for the Israelites to defeat the Amalekites, Moses needed to keep his arms raised to preserve victory. Persistence is what allowed Moses to keep his arms raised. He needed to be persistent in the face of his weariness and he required assistance to maintain his persistence. He likened this to being a faithful Catholic in modern times: we need to be persistent in our faith, even when things may appear hopeless around us. I leaned over to my son and whispered in his ear "that's a lot like being a Red Sox fan." We said our silent prayers and mine most definately included a prayer for the Red Sox. I even threw some extra money into the collection basket that morning.
We all know that God is a Red Sox Fan and what happened in the improbable week and a half after that: Dave Roberts' steal, Big Papi, Johnny (Jesus) Damon, The Bloody Sock, and "swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke, he has it, he underhands to first and the Boston Red Sox are World Champions!" We'll miss you Keith-we couldn't have done it without you and you should have been MVP of the 2004 World Series. I don't care what you did after that night on October 27 of 2004. In your own way, you gave this Sox fan a shot of religion.
