Another season of New York Yankees baseball came to an end Thursday night.
Right on schedule, the schadenfreude followed.
Everyone loves to hate the Yankees. Everyone loves to trash the Evil Empire built on cash, championships, tradition and more cash. Everyone loves to cackle with glee when the pinstripes bow out of another postseason short of the World Series.
But let me ask you this: why hate the Yankees so much?
First, they don’t “buy” championships, as so many suggest. This is easily proven by the fact the Yankees hardly ever win championships any more. New York has won two Fall Classics since 2000. That means of the last 11 World Series, counting this year’s upcoming one, nine of them will end with the Yankees not winning.
Second, while they spend a ridiculous amount of money, they also dish a tremendous amount out. The Yankees’ luxury tax payments help keep small market teams afloat – small market teams that usually just pocket the Yankees’ cash.
Third, the Yankees are a symbol of excellence. In this society, we celebrate most symbols of excellence – Apple, BMW, whatever – but yet most people will go out of their way to trash the Yankees. Why?
Not everything the Yankees do is great. And yes, their payroll can get a bit excessive some times. But it’s not like they completely dominate baseball in the manner so many like to pretend they do on nights such as last night.
They’re a baseball team. A very successful one built on tradition and talent and wealth and glory, but still a baseball team nonetheless. And to boot, one that has pretty much played second fiddle to the Boston Red Sox by and large for the past seven years. But they get the hate, and the Sox don’t, because to support Boston is now the sports equivalent of being hip, even though the Sox are more establishment recently (although certainly not over time) than the Yankees.
Another season ends without a title in the Bronx. Nothing new.
The glee in the failure rages on after the fact. Again, nothing new.
