My reasons for wanting the Red Sox to win...so much more than a sport

[Mike Gallo]

Ok guys, here we go, game 7 tomorrow night. Yankee stadium in da Bronx the stage.

I see it as more then a baseball game. I see it as two different set of beliefs about to go to war for a final time. One team that has a rule against its players growing facial hair and growing their hair past a certain length vs a team of men who have grown long beards and long hair. In one respect I see these teams as David vs Goliath. I sometimes compare the two teams and its fans as blue collar vs white collar, Republicans vs Democrats. I wanted to add in there the Muslims vs the Christians, however I thought it as a little over the top. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

I always viewed the Yankee Red Sox rivalry to mean so much more than baseball. A team (the Red Sox and their fans) that always finished second no matter how hard it tried. A city (Yankee fans )that thought itself invinciple and could never lose to Boston.

I grew up in Queens,New York a 25 minute bus ride from Shea stadium. Since I lived so close to Shea stadium, I grew up and still follow the Metropolitans. However with the current state of affairs in Met management, I have adopted the Red Sox as my AL team. Probably because other then Met fans, the Red Sox loathe the Yankees and their fans more then the Mets fan do. We lost to the Yankees in the 2000 World Series so I can commiserate with the Red Sox fans. I don't have to tell Boston fans, they know the arrogance of the Yankee fan the Boston fan has heard the 1918 chant.

I grew up not liking the Yankees, more accurately the Yankee fans. In the late 70s and early 80s many considered the Mets perennial losers, similiar to the Met teams since 1991. Needless to say I took a lot of abuse from Yankee fans growing up, relatives included.

I liked the players on the Yankee teams of the late 90's. They had a lot of quality people and players I would call Yankees. Yankee fans will know what I mean. This Yankee team doesnt have too many of them, other then the "core" Yankees. I do not consider Giambi a "real" Yankee, I would never consider Kevin Brown a "real" Yankee either.

Guys like Andy Fox and Dynasty have complete different feelings right now. Andy can't even sleep with the thought of the Evil Empire possible gagging and losing to the Red Sox. After the Red Sox losing game 7 in such dramatic style last year broken hearted Dynasty fell off of the face of the earth for a long amount of time.

As for me, I look forward to an exciting game, but I think I will witness something that has never happened before. I watched it as a Devil fan in 2000. The Devils fell behind the Flyers 3-1. The Devils battled back and went on to win the Cup. Red Sox fans, if the Sox can overcome this obstacle, they can win the World Series.

Good luck tommorow to guys like Dynasty, Joe Tall, Beer Money, Sublime amd other Sox fans. Good luck to JoeU,JTG,Zack and any other Yankee fans. To Andy Fox I say Zol zion mit Mazel.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
As for me, I look forward to an exciting game,

[/ QUOTE ]
Me too. Whoever wins, this series has been amazing.

[Mike Gallo]

Me too. Whoever wins, this series has been amazing.

I agree. They always have some kind of drama between these two teams.

[ThaSaltCracka]

the games have always been dramatic in a tense way, but I don't think there is DRAMA between the two teams. I can only imagine how many more new fans this series(and last years) have created. wow..... I literally paced around during the bottom of the ninth.... damn....

[andyfox]

Lovely post.

I grew up, from ages 7 to 13, in Forest Hills. Went to P.S. 174 in Rego Park, Russell Sage Junior High School. Moved there in 1960, before the advent of the Metropolitans; ergo, I suppose, my Yankee love.

Zol Zion mit mazel my friend.

[sublime]

Mike-

Great post my friend

[nothumb]

Hi Mike,

It might be because I'm from the South and have a negative connotation of the very word, but I have always said that the Yankees represent everything that is wrong with America since the advent of heavy industry.

I liked your post a lot.

NT

[scrub]

I love the post, Mike, and it's great to see you on the boards again.

Growing up in New England with a name like George Peter Patrick O'Brien, I was pretty much a Sox fan before I was walking. My grandfather was such a big fan that my grandmother used to listen to the day games on the radio and fill out a score card for him while he was at work so that he didn't have to wait to read about the game in the paper.

When I was five, my mother gave me a clock radio. I grew up in southern Connecticut, so WFAN became my lullaby. I listened to almost two full seasons of Bob Murphy calling the Mets games before the series in '86, and had firmly adopted them as my NL team. In the process, I also got cursed with the Rangers and the Knicks, although I did manage to score the Giants in the deal. It took me a few years to come to grips with '86, but I've long since forgiven the Mets, and think that the two teams are almost sister franchises.

So many of the things that make being a Sox fan a worthy passion are the same thing that makes Mets fans the best baseball fans in New York. Especially the Mets fans that stuck with them through the last few seasons, which have been really tough to take.

Welcome aboard.

scrub

[Joe Tall]

Thanks for you wishes, Mike.

Hope things are well.

GO SOX!
-Joe Tall

[GuyOnTilt]

You know, I thought I was rooting for the Red Sox in this series, but as I've watched more and more games I've realized that I really just don't care that much. I'm sitting there enjoying the ball game, but I'm just not caring who comes out on top. I guess it's probably the fact that I know they're only playing for who gets to take 2nd place in the World Series anyway. At least I'll get to watch a game I can get excited about tomorrow.

Go freaking 'Stros!!!

GoT