Monday, September 3, 2007

This Purist Bleed Pinstripes--Ramblings of a Yankee fan

So, basically, I'm doing this because someone challenged me to, so we'll see how far it goes.

I'm a Yankee fan.

I've been a Yankee fan since I was ten, in '96, and my fourth grade class decided to dupe our witch-of-a-Yankee-hating-teacher by wearing Yankee shirts to class on the last day of the school year. I've been a die-hard Yankee fan since '98, when I first started following the team in earnest.

I'm a Yankee fan not because the team is historically the best (though I am a history major and love anything and everything old, the older and deader the better!), I'm not a Yankee fan because the team won the World Series in '96 or '98.

I'm a Yankee fan because I grew up in Northern New Jersey, in the shadow of New York City, and New Jersey doesn't have a baseball team. I'm a Yankee fan because my older brother was a Yankee fan, and not a Mets fan. I'm a Yankee fan because that was the first baseball team I ever knew existed.

Likewise, I am a Devils and Nets fan purely for reasons of geography--though watching the Devils win the Stanley Cup and the Nets go from worst to first has been quite an enjoyable experience. I'm also a Jets fan, but this one's a bit different. I was brought up a Giants fan, but in one year both teams made the playoffs, and I saw both games, and I was instantly drawn to the atmosphere of the Jets game.

However, for all the sports I like, there's none more than baseball.

It's surprisingly hard to be both a baseball purist AND a Yankee fan, because true purists wanted a Cubs-Red Sox series in 2003 and cheered the Sox in 2004, and the Yankees really are Goliath, but I try.

I love watching pitchers bid for no hitters, walk-off wins, strange-as-hell (like Toronto batting out of order the other day), NL pennant races (since I can watch them and enjoy it, knowing it won't affect the Yankees), crazy plays...all of the things that make baseball the greatest sport known to mankind.

Yes, I said it.

So I'm a Yankee fan, and a baseball purist. I bleed pinstripes.

My favorite current Yankee is Mariano Rivera. Has been since 1999. It was Paul O'Neill for a long time, and then I decided I wanted a favorite who wasn't much heard of. And then Rivera pitched something like 33 scoreless innings, rendering it a moot point.

My favorite all time Yankee is Yogi Berra--he's funny, he wore #8, he lives in NJ. Not much more to it.

The first Yankees game I ever went to was in May 1999. El Duque pitched and the Yankees lost 7-1. Manny Ramirez had at least one home run.

I don't get to go to many games a season, but I've seen the Yankees play Cleveland, Chi Sox, Kansas City, Texas, Pittsburgh, the Angels and the Marlins. I think I've seen them play Chicago twice, but I can't quite remember. There may be other teams I'm forgetting, but I'm pretty sure that's it.

I've sat in nearly every area of the lower level at the Stadium, and I've toured Monument Park.


About the non-Yankee me:

I'm a 21 year-old history major at Syracuse University. My area of interest is medieval and Renaissance English history, and true to form, I own Renaisance costumes and four swords (three of which are real). I'm an English minor, and I write fiction.

I grew up in northern New Jersey, and except for Syracuse, last spring in Europe and family vacations, it's where I've spent my life.

I'm terrified, absolutely terrified of thunderstorms and tornadoes.

I have a LiveJournal where I detail my personal life for my friends, but that is the previous extent of my blogging experience.


Let's see what happens here.

11 comments:

  1. OK, so I'm the one who challenged Rebecca to start this blog. Kudos to her for having the stones to do so! From what I know of Rebecca in our time together hanging out on the now famous Lohud Yankees Blog, she is an intelligent and thoughtful baseball fan (not just a Yankee booster) with some great insights to share. So, here's hoping this blog takes off!

    BTW - I was a first year law school student when the Yanks won in '96, so the fact that Rebecca was in grade school in '96 makes me feel unbelievably old! Thanks Rebecca! ;)

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  2. Rebecca, nice blog. I'm 17 and school starts on Wed. for me. I'm a senior at high school. I think I want to be a doctor but I would rather pitch for the Yankees. I'm lefty but I have no playing talent. This is a nice blog, and I hope you well at Syracuse. I also hope that Karstens gets the call for the last game in the KC series. Anyway, go Yanks!!!

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  3. Good luck with the blog, Rebecca.
    Go Yankees!
    MGW

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  4. Dear Rebecca,

    I am also a Yankee fan. I was born in the shadow of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, oh so many years ago. I applaud your posts on Pete's blog and on your own... break a leg!!

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  5. A phil--I remember my senior year. Tons of work, but it really was one of the best years I ever had in school. Enjoy it, but don't do anything stupid!

    Charles--Thank you!

    Larry Jaffe--Thank you!

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  6. Nice work, Rebecca. I especially like your compulsive reader blog.

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  7. Matthew--Thanks. I haven't done a very good job of updating it, though.

    If you want a look at what I've been reading, check out
    this

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  8. just stopping by from a link i found while trying to catch up on weekend posts at pete abraham's blog.

    Best of luck with it. It looks great so far!

    Oh and go Nets! I thought I was the only Net fan who posted on Pete's blog. haha

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  9. Saucy--Thank you!

    Hah, yes, Go Nets! I had a great time in 2001-2002 when we made the finals for the first time ever. Jason Kidd has been a miracle for the team!

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  10. I liked the Nets back in the days of the multi-coloured ball [they played out of The City, back then]. My fave was Wendell Ladner, who was completely charismatic and a good forward, to boot. He was killed in an airliner crash, and I kinda drifted on after that :-(

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