Baseball

I love baseball. My favorite team is the New York Yankees. I know. Most people hate the Yankees for the sake of hating the Yankees. Personally, I have a lower opinion of Boston fans than I do of Yankees fans. The Boston fans just seem like snobs. That's just my perception, so no offense if you like Boston. It's mostly from watching the games.

Anyway...baseball. I can't explain it. But I love it. All year I yearn for opening day. I can't wait. I get so excited and happy for opening day.

That MasterCard commercial where it's about spending a week with your favorite team nearly makes me cry. I LOVE that old guy with the sign that say, "Yankees Need a Win Today." It actually became my mantra last night. You see, we were playing in Boston. On Friday we came from a 7-2 deficit and won. 6 runs in the 8th. Wonderful. Then we got our asses handed to us on Saturday. But that's OK. There was still Sunday. It was 1-1 through most of the game. Then with 2 men on, 2 men out, my hero Derek Jeter came up to bat. I was so scared because I knew this was our one chance. I couldn't watch. I changed the channel. A few minutes later, I flipped back. Derek did it. We were up 4-1! To add an element of fear in the adoring fans, my Yankees let those Bostonians score 2 more runs. It was 4-3. Then, they loaded the bases. I was freaking out! Two out, bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, and who comes up to bat? Big Papi, that's who. I was so scared! Of course I wanted that S.O.B. to go out on strikes, but Yankees Need a Win Today. I was willing to take it any way we could get it. It was a fly and Derek caught it. Yankees won. I almost cried. I'm not even joking. I almost cried.

I restrained myself from shouting at this amazing feat. I didn't want my roommate to come in and bug me. But I was so happy!

Many people think I like the Yankees only because they're "good" or "rich" or something like that. Let's see...we haven't won the World Series in AGES! I liked them before that though. My dad watched the Yankees since he was a kid. And so, I'd watch the Yankees with him. It's not like I jumped on some bandwagon, like so many "fans." Believe me. I'm from Oklahoma. I understand band-wagoning. Seems like it happened a few years ago with some little football game...

Anyway...that's my take on the Yankees. It's not about the money. It's not about the prestige. It's about the honor of the tradition.

After all, The Yankees Need a Win Today.