Sunday, October 12, 2008

Musings with a Broken Keyboard

So I have a confession to make.

Earlier today, during halftime of the Jets/Bengals game, I caught the ninth inning of game five of the 2001 World Series on TV.

For various reasons, it was the first time I'd actually seen the top of the ninth inning--and the chanting of Paul O'Neill's name.

The moment gives me chills, of course, but this was the first time I'd heard it without any embellishments, any retrospective announcing or music, and I realized that while there's a lot of the 2001 World Series that I remember, there's a lot that, at the time, I simply didn't understand.

I'd only started following the Yankees in 1996--when I was 10--and thus the significance of the dynasty teams was largely lost on me. The Yankees were good, I knew, and I'd thought it wasa right that we were in the World Series nearly every year.

I kind of took it all for granted. I know better now, of course, but that's not the point.

The point is, when Brosius hit his home run in the ninth inning of Game Five, I knew it was incredible, but I didn't realize how incredible.

When you consider that the entire thing happened only about six weeks removed from 9/11, it takes on an altogether added importance.

More than winning, New York needed the Yankees to play those few games in October and November. Play the game well, and you'd prove to the world that you cannot bring New York down.

The Yankees, in true Yankee fashion, just happened to make sure that those games were unforgettable.

2 comments:

  1. It is not anyone fault but, those that started watching the Yanks in '95+ don't know the trials and tribulations of those really bad years before '95/96.
    Being of the same generation as your father, growing up as a teen in the early '50s, I remember the really, really bad teams we had later.
    As I look back, I must confess to having the same out look as some do now. In the '40s and early '50s the Yanks were almost always in the WS. So, I must say the newer generation has a rude awakening coming to them, as the team rebuilds and regenerates itself.
    By the way, nice to see you posting on RAB, enjoy school this year. 27/09.

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  2. That's a good point Ranger, there are a few separate generations of Yankee fans who began with that "birthright" phase...

    I started my fandom in the mid-70s, so I went from the Championship teams to the fun-but-not-enough-pitching teams to the Mel Hall teams (plenty of good seats still available!) to the Championship teams to this.

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