Why I'm No Longer The Same Yankee Fan That I Once Was

I’ve been a Yankees fan since the day I was conceived. I’ve especially been following them rigorously since 1996. Those are my earliest Yankee memories. (I guess you can say I’ve been pretty spoiled over the last 14 years). My Bar Mitzvah party theme was the Yankees. I’ve been to hundreds of Yankee games. I’ve seen them play in such cities as Boston, Baltimore, Cleveland, Tampa, Philadelphia, and of course New York. I attend spring training every year and I was written up in the New York Post last year. I’ve worked in Yankee Stadium (until I got kicked out for snooping around and trying to get autographs) and I’ve met numerous of current and former Yankees at shows and dinners. I guess I can be classified, as a big Yankee fan to say the least, and as a big Yankees fan it is my right to have many opinions about the team that I’m so passionate about. Lately over the past couple of years I’ve become very conflicted about how I feel about the Yankees. I am currently in a very difficult/uncomfortable state with my feelings towards the Yankees. The reason why I’m in such an uncomfortable state is because although I love the Yankees so much, I also hate them. I hate them to the point that I’m not sure if I’m going to be a Yankee fan after the Jeter era is over. I hate them for the following reasons:
I hate the new Yankee stadium
I hate the new ownership
I hate and I mean hate Joe Girardi

These are 3 strikes and the Yankees might be out on my watch.

Nothing sickens me more than the opening of the new Yankee stadium and the closing of the old/real Yankee stadium. This is a huge tragedy. The Yankees selfishly “sold-out” when they built this new stadium. All of this just to earn a few more bucks Their was no need for this new stadium to come about. This new Yankee Stadium is totally unnecessary. The Yankees were doing just fine financially and the fans were not complaining about the old stadium. The Yankees have been breaking attendance records every year and were the richest team in baseball yet they still went ahead and selfishly built this new stadium (without any fans opinions involved) just to earn a few more bucks. They raised the prices because they can. Because they know that they have a huge fan-base and people will still show up no matter how expensive tickets are. Not only are they a sell-out when it comes to raising ticket prices, but they are also a sell-out when it comes to what they are really doing. The Yankees are all about History, Tradition, Pride, Mystique, and Awe, so how can they go ahead and move out of and destroy the building where that all took place. Their going against everything they stand for. It’s supposed to be ‘The House That Ruth Built” not the house that Steinbrenner built, and they’re going ahead and throwing all that history in such a holy ballpark down the toilet. Granted the current Yankee stadium is not the same as the original (it underwent a facelift in 1974-75), however it is still the same field. It is still the same dirt. Home plate is in the same location where Babe Ruth used to smack home runs from. Center field is in the same location where the great Joe DiMaggio once snagged fly balls. It’s the same field where guys like Gherig, Berra, and Mantle would play their hearts out. And now their throwing it all away so that fans can now watch replays on a big screen TV and have wider seats to sit in. Is that why we go to the ballpark???!!!, To sit in wide seats and have a plasma HD jumbo tron??? This is what we are throwing history out for??? Is that what it’s all about?? Gimme a break. What upsets me the most is that I feel like I’m the only fan who cares. Fans don’t see what’s going on. Fans cannot see that they are selling their Yankee souls for the glitz and glamour of wider seats and a big screen in center. They are being tricked by the ownership who are promising a great future in a new ballpark. I can’t understand the stupid/fake fans who are happy to sell their Yankee pride for a lavish new ballpark. What saddens me the most is the thought that when the day comes when my grandson asks me where “The Babe” used to smack home runs, I’m going to have to point across the street to the parking lot. It’s supposed to be “The House That Ruth Built”, not the house that Steinbrenner built. They would never build another stadium in Boston. Or Chicago (cubs), so why here? They love Fenway and Wrigley. It’s holy to them it’s a place that they take pride in, which they’ve called home for almost 100 years now, and its unheard of for them to replace their stadiums. So why Yankee stadium? If anything Yankee stadium is 20 times holier and more magical than those ballparks. So how could we replace it? How could we be replacing and destroying such a beloved ballpark here in New York? Let me tell you something people the ghost of Yankee Stadium are not moving across the street. They are staying put in the hallowed ground where they belong. So good luck Yankees. I was so comfortable in the old park I felt at home. I felt like I was a somebody. This new ball-park is just the opposite I feel lost and confused. My usual upper deck seats are farther up and further back. I feel like I’m in corporation land and rich people land. This new stadium has no energy, it’s like watching a game in a freaking Starbucks. The reason why this is so is because its filled with rich corporate businessman pricks who aren’t real fans, don’t know how to make noise, and don’t show up to the games when the weather is bad. I miss the cracks of the old stadium. Each crack acting like a wrinkle on an old mans face representing so many years of great memories and tradition. I miss the thunderous roar and the way the old stadium would shake when the Yankees would play well.

Another thing about this new stadium is that ticket prices have soared as much as over 100%. There are tremendously fewer affordable seats (when I say affordable I mean $30 and under). The only people benefiting from this new stadium are the big companies and rich executives who have no respect for tradition and pride. They are the ones who will be receiving more and more money each year on behalf of every single fan who attends a game. The Yankees built this new stadium and are charging more for tickets without any regard to those who cannot afford to pay more. By raising prices, they are only catering to their rich clientele who don’t mind spending more because they can afford it. They are totally disregarding the smaller guys who can no longer afford to take their family out to the ballpark. They would much rather have new wide seats and a big scoreboard then to satisfy ALL their fans.

Reason number 2 why I hate the Yankees is because these new owners (hank & Hal) are a joke. George Steinbrenner was a man of integrity who was respected and feared. These new owners are nothing more than just DNA lottery winners who are extremely unprofessional with their comments, that they make Mike Tyson look like a genius. Hank Steinbrenner is known to make foolish outrageous comments perhaps for the reason that he wants to live up to and replicate his dad. However there will never be another George Steinbrenner. George Steinbrenner built himself through hard work and perseverance. Hank and Hal cannot become him overnight. They should flat-out stop trying to become him because those are shoes that they just wont be able to fill.

Reason number 3 why I hate the Yankees is because of Joe Girardi. I happen to think that he’s an awful manager who is arrogant, unintelligent, impatient with the media, and stubborn who plays way too much by the books. I rant much more about Girardi in rants # 1 and 2.

Ever since the season of 2004, I’ve lost my passion, my fire and desire,my mojo for the Yankees. The reason why this is so is because Boston beat us and went on to win the World Series. Not only did they beat us, but they did so in dramatic fashion winning 4 straight games against us after having their backs up against the wall being down 3-0 in the ALCS.

2003 was the highest point of my baseball career. When Aaron Boone hit that home run in the 11th inning to knock Boston out of the playoffs, I was ecstatic. That was without a doubt the most exciting game and the most exciting series that I’ve ever seen in my life. That series was highlighted with such heated competition and a famous brawl where Pedro Martinez beat up Don Zimmer and was beautifully capped off with Aaron Boone’s shot deep to left. I didn’t even care that the Yankees went on to lose to the Marlins in the World Series. Nobody seemed to care. We were still celebrating our victory over Boston. That was our World Series as far as we were concerned. It was such a higher stage than the actual World Series against the Marlins. However, the fairy tale ending did not last long..

I went from such a high in 2003 to such a low in 2004 when Boston got their revenge by beating us in the ALCS. I was more upset that Boston went on to win the World Series than I was about them knocking us out. The reason why this is so is because that ended the “Curse of the Bambino”. They finally won. After 86 years Boston were now champions and there was no more curse. No more chanting “1918”. To me as a Yankee fan, I took tremendous pride in beating Boston every year and defending the curse. My goal for every season was to make sure Boston doesn’t win. Defend and protect the sanctity of the curse. Of course I also wanted the Yankees to win every season but more importantly was just to make sure Boston doesn’t win. We had bragging rights for 86 years until 2004. After they won I had a feeling of “GAME OVER, now what. They won. What’s there to play for now?”. Boston finally had bragging rights over us for the first time. I had and still do have a feeling of worthlessness when it comes to Yankee baseball. I feel like “what’s the point now”. Every year each team regroups and tries to accomplish the same goal and each year there’s a different winner. Yeah I get it. It’s kind of clichéic to me now. There used to be more than just trying to win every year. It was trying to win so that we could shove it in Boston’s face. That was our sense of baseball pride. Now Boston is shoving not 1 but 2 rings in our face. We are now equals with Boston. We used to be only superior but now they finally got a piece of the pie and I cannot deal with that. They knocked me out as a fan. They succeeded.

That my friends is why I am no longer the same Yankee fan that I once was