There is something about Yankees fans. No, not New York fans, and not every single Yankee fan out there, but the fraudulent fan.
You know what I’m talking about. The type of person with low self-esteem and in dire need of something positive in their life. So they latch onto a winning team not for the emotional aspect, but for the artificial sense of happiness.
Similar to Dallas Cowboys fans, who grew up watching them win on a consistent basis, the same is applied to those who claim loyalty to the Yankees.
The nature of always winning is contagious, so naturally people are drawn to this.
Now this isn’t a rant on all Yankee fans.
This is about the peripheral fan; the one who doesn’t know the Yankees starting rotation, or who only begins to follow the team when they clinch a playoff berth.
The worst of these fans are the ones that follow no other team, except the Yankees, but it’s on a casual basis.
Where did I come to this assertion of fraud Yankee fans? For three years, there was a section editor here at the Temple News, who was an avid Yankees fan. Interestingly enough, he had no devotion to any other New York sports teams. Not the NHL’s Rangers (one title in the past 64 years), not the Knicks (one title in 31 years), not the Jets or Giants (three titles in 39 years).
But the Yankees have won 26 World Series titles.
Hmmm…
Can you say front-runner? My contention is that a strong minority of Yankee fans are. They pay little attention to other sports, but will support a team that is so used to winning, even if they can’t recite their team’s starting rotation.
And why do they cling to this franchise, but ignore the others?
They want to avoid the suffering that REAL fans endure. They wish to aspire some sort of elitism.
The term diehard Yankee fan is an oxymoron, because when have they ever suffered?
It must be reiterated; this is not an attack on real Yankee boosters. This is a reality check to the wannabes. But the sad thing is, the faux-fans are so steeped in denial, they don’t even realize it.
There’s no question the epic American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees may have been the best sports story of the year. It’s captivated the nation with premise of good vs. evil.
Boston, bereft of a World Series title since 1918 and the Yankees, better known as the “Evil Empire”, who have 26 titles and counting.
While it’s disappointing to see the Yankees jump out in front of by three games, only to see the Sox knot the Series up, before faltering Game 7, again, for the second straight year.
Jason Haslam can be reached at jasonhaslam@yahoo.com
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