Have you ever read Sports Guy's book? You really should. Unless you're a Yankees fan, in which case you should only read the first 200 or so pages. In fact, you should probably just burn the last hundred something pages. Just pretend they don't even exist. (In case you don't have ESPN as one of your bookmarks, a quick rundown on the book: Sports Guy aka Bill Simmons is a HUGE Red Sox fan. After the 2004 World Series, he compiled his columns from ESPN into a book. Basically, he's a funny guy -- but damn he loves those Sox. I can respect that.)
I started and finished the book during my last visit to Boston. I didn't have the luxury of a working fireplace. Well, actually I'm pretty sure the fireplace worked. It wasn't mine and I just didn't know how to work it -- give me a break, I grew up in Hawaii. Anyway, the reason I'm bringing this up is because I've been thinking about my Matsuzaka pickle.
Some background here: I love almost everything about Boston and New England except the Red Sox. I dislike most things about New York, especially the pollution, traffic and angry people. Consider the fact that I lived about three hours from New York and an hour and a half from Boston for four years and only made it down to NYC about three times (versus countless visits to Boston). I don't know why, but I just feel like New England has a lot more history than New York does. I also hate the Knicks - a lot. Not really sure why that is.
If/when I move to Boston, I could handle being a Celtics fan. I'm a Sacramento Kings fan, and they only play each other twice. And seriously, it's not very likely that both teams will make the NBA Finals in the next millennium, which would force me to choose between the two, so that's fine. I could also handle being a Patriots fan, partially because I already kind of got into the whole Pats thing. I watched the heartbreaking Pats loss to the Colts earlier this year while I was in Boston. I actually felt upset. Anyway, two out of three ain't bad right?
But, I absolutely love my Yankees. Love them. And in my defense, it's not just because they were good when I was growing up. Anyone remember the early 1990s? Before the 1994 player strike? I'm talking about when the just SUCKED. Poor Donnie Baseball, he never made it to the World Series. And right after he retired, they win it all. Anyway, growing up in Hawaii, we just didn't have a local team (duh) so I guess you could say I picked a team.
My dad, sister and I were watching some night game in 1991 or 1992. The Bombers were playing in Anaheim and the Yankees were just getting killed. I mean just slaughtered. I think it was about 5-0 or 6-0 for the (California) Angels, when my dad turned to my sister and I and told us to pick teams. My sister, three years older, picked the Angels because they were winning (and she's such a bandwagon jumper like that). So I was left with the losing Yankees. I had hope, yes I did. And Christ, did they just crush my little seven year-old heart. I might have even cried. Then I probably played with my Barbies. I think if you go to BaseballAlmanac.com, you can find the actual game. I asked my dad if he remembered the night. It was kind of a waste, because my dad, bless his heart, can't even remember how old I am now or my birthday, let alone some random night fifteen summers ago. He's a Cubs fan. Maybe it's better that he can't remember the past.
Now, I'm a loyal person. I stayed with my team. It's not my fault they became winners. I could have become a Braves fan after 1995, like my sister did. (In her defense, she did go to Atlanta that summer and saw a few games. At least, I think it was that summer. I was eleven. Forgive me if my memory's a little fuzzy. Her bandwagon jumping did make for a great 1996 World Series competition between us, though. Guess who won.) One thing I really didn't realize living in Hawaii: the intensity of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. In Hawaii all we had when I was growing up were the women's volleyball UH-Stanford, men's volleyball UH-UCLA and football UH-BYU rivalries. As big as those were (and believe me, they were huge), there's no way they could have prepared me for the magnitude of Red Sox-Yankees.
I think my first taste of the rivalry came my freshman year of college. If you didn't know, I went to school (go Mt. Holyoke!) in western Massachusetts. It's safe to say that I was surrounded by Massholes, being near the center of Red Sox Nation. (Don't forget, New England is quite a large region.) I was settling into my free life as a college student and decided to take an October trip to Boston to visit some friends. PLAYOFFS! Yeah, it was 2002 and the Yankees were in it, but the BoSox weren't. (Tear.)
We were at some club or bar or something when the Yankees lost to the Angels. My friend's roommate was from the Bronx or Harlem or something like that and he was crushed. I couldn't believe Sox fans were actually taunting him. They didn't even make it into the playoffs! I guess that's when I realized Sox fans were just sad, sad people who (sometimes, at least) would rather see the Yankees lose than the Sox win. Of course, I was still in Massachusetts for 2003 (man, did those Red Sox fans love it when the Marlins won). I think the cries of pain after Aaron Fucking Boone hit that homer soothed my little heart. But, I was also there for 2004. Let's just say I might have gotten what I deserved.
Okay, back to Sports Guy and Matsuzaka. He says it's not okay to root for your fantasy guys if they're playing against your team. What makes the Matsuzaka pickle (and how good is that word, thank you The Sandlot) even worse is that he plays for my most hated team. Should I bench him if he's playing the Yankees? Plus, I have Manny. Do I bench him, so I can be happy in both fantasy and real baseball if/when he goes 0-5? Furthermore, what if it's Matsuzaka vs. Mussina? Do I bench both of them so I can just watch the game in peace? The game I'm watching in Boston is the 17th for the Red Sox and the 16th for the Yankees. Depending on who the Opening Day starters are for both teams, there's a very good chance it could be Matsuzaka vs. Mussina.
Maybe I'll just get so drunk that night I'll just forget I even play fantasy baseball. For that night, and that night only. And you can bet your ass I'll be cheering for the Yankees.
Photo Source: NNDB
No comments:
Post a Comment