Friday, November 6th, 2009. I'm so excited that I wake up before my alarm clock. I shower and shave, throw on my favorite article of clothing, and rush out of my apartment. A gust of cold, brisk, wind hits me. I'm glad I threw a sweatshirt on under my favorite article of clothing because its going to be cold standing out in the cold today. My Derek Jeter jersey just wouldn't be enough to keep me warm. I jump on the subway, and head down to a ticker tape parade. My favorite team did it. The Yankees are World Series champions.
Now back to reality:
Why couldn't I have made things easy on myself and become a Yankee fan? As a Met fan, I face year after year of torture, depression, and misery (and this is what I like to do for fun in my spare time). Faced with a Yankees vs. Phillies World Series, it was really a lose-lose. I hate the Yankees, but I hate their fans and the concept of the team more. But I could never root for the Phillies, and so the Yankees it was.
When the Yankees won on Wednesday night, I thought I was going to be angry and bitter today when the city would swell with pinstripes, "legends", and and "tradition" for the parade. But being downtown today just made me sad. Seeing swarms of fans, screaming and celebrating in euphoria. Seeing kids holding their dad's hands, waving pennants, excited about the opportunity to see their heroes. They were truly happy. No amount of Yankee bashing could allow me to take that away from them. The Yankees won, and despite how they did it, their fans can call them champions.
Year after year, seasons fly by for the Mets. Players, managers, and GMs come and go. I keep thinking that this is our year. That it is all going to come together. But it doesn't happen. So all I can say to Yankee fans is enjoy number 27. If you are one of my peers, enjoy the 5th championship you've seen since you were 12 years old. I hope you enjoy and appreciate it, because despite what you have been brought up to believe, it doesn't happen very often.
