And now for something completely different
My wife Janelle is not a baseball fan. Sure, we've been to a few games, but she's never followed the sport with any consistancy and usually can care less about what happens. But this last weekend, she has become a passionate Yankee-hater (and a de facto Red Sox fan). Though I'm not a sports fan in the ESPN or Sports Talk Radio sense of the word, I at least try to keep track of what's going on-and given Janelle's recent conversion I've paid a bit more attention than usual.
Which brings me to my comment/question: how can anyone like the New York Yankees? Their payroll is 183 million dollars. The next highest, the Red Sox, are at 125 million. To put this in perspective, there are 14 teams (almost half the league) that have a payroll less than 58 million dollars, the difference between the Yankees and the rest of baseball. How can people enjoy rooting for a team that, due to their unfathomable pockets, can buy any player they want and that is at least assured a playoff spot every year? Luckily, there's enough chance in baseball that they aren't assured a World Series ring. (I've read that given the luck involved in baseball, the worst team in the league has at least a 15% chance of beating the best team in a 7 game series) But come on, somebody find me a salary cap somewhere.
posted by Chris @ 7/30/2004 02:14:00 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Ahh, the indominable fallacy of composition. (just b/c a team has all the best players, it doesn't logically follow that it's the best team) Exactly why all-star games are never exciting to watch. But that doesn't solve the problem that is the Yankees (or was to a degree the Lakers). If anything, it makes it harder to decry the bombers.
This has become quite the heated debate among a group of people who all dislike the yankees. Here's my theory why it's ok to hate them.
First, Baseball is entertainment. Imagine an action movie where Bruce Willis and his side kick Arnold spend the half of the time amassing machine guns, flame throwers, etc etc etc, and the other half obliterating their arch-rivals--the south-side high school fencing team. Ok, it's a little extreme, but the point is that nobody wants to watch a one-sided romp, it's not good entertainment.
Second, I don't know if we can say they've earned it. Yes, they do have money and mistique and history, but that may be due to a few lucky breaks (the curse trade) and the fact that New York is the center of the world. I know, the mets aren't that way, but they are missing the mistique and the history (but definately not money). So to root for the Yankees because they mirror the triumph of the american spirit of capitalism may not fly.