Invasion of the Yankee Haters

I’m a New York Yankees fan.

A diehard New York Yankees fan. Born and raised in Falls Church, I inherited my love for the pinstripers from my Dad who, having grown up on Long Island, taught me the history and passion of rooting for the Bronx Bombers.

I don’t apologize for loving the Yankees. I’m not sorry that the “home team” eventhoughBaltimoreisover50milesaway Orioles haven’t had a winning season in seven years. I’m not sorry the Yankees have won 26 World Championships, 17 more than the next closest team. I’m not sorry that the Yankees spent over $180 million, by far the most in the majors, on their players this year. And I’m certainly not sorry that the Yankees are sitting atop their division all the while holding the best record in baseball.

The only thing I’m sorry for is the people who continue to hate the Yankees just because they’re the Yankees.

The Yankee Haters.

If you’re not a Boston Red Sox fan or a non-sliding member of the Giambi family, there is no good reason to hate the Yankees.

Two occasions during last year’s playoffs, I was witness to just how many Yankee Haters are out there. First, there was Game 7 of the ALCS. Sitting in FC’s own Broad Street Grill, one could have easily mistaken the bar for Boston, as I was the only New York fan, sitting quietly as the rest of the crowd cursed the Yanks and cheered with every Red Sox score. As the Yankees clawed their way back and eventually took the series on Aaron Boone’s swat, I grinned broadly as expletives flew across the room. Yankees 1, Yankee Haters 0.

Watching Game 6 of the Series 10 days later at ESPNZone, surrounded by Marlin fans*cough*YankeeHaters, I groaned as the entire room cheered when Jorge Posada was tagged for the third and final out of the October Classic. Screams of joy and shouts of “Yankees Suck!” rang through the place. Was I still in D.C.? Could it be I somehow wandered into a private Marlins party and just happened to miss the huge charter bus with Florida plates parked out front?

Um, signs point to no. Just another invasion of the Yankee Haters.

Know what I hear all the time?

The Yankees buy their players. They don’t give any other teams a chance during free agency. They win too much. How can you like them? They’re just too good.

Sound familiar?

The money and the spending are what seem to provoke the most ire among theYank Haters. My response?

So what.

The Yankees are doing what every other team in baseball has a right to do. They’re spending their money. They’ve earned it. They’re not breaking any rules. In fact, with the new luxury tax in baseball, they’re paying for it. True, it may be pocket change to them, but they’re not in any violation.

Baseball is a business. Like it or not. No one can tell me if their favorite team had a chance to pick up an A-Rod or a Vlad or a Puljos, they wouldn’t do it in an instant. If you’re team had money, Yankee Haters, you’d want them to spend it like it was burning a hole in their pocket.

But money doesn’t NESCESSARILY equal a World Series trophy. In fact, losing when you have the highest payroll in the game evokes a whole other slew of taunts. The Marlins payroll in ‘03? $49 million. Compare that to the $153 million of the 2003 Yankees and then you get the, “See, the Yankees can’t even buy a World Series!” jibes.

I think what gets Yankee Haters the most is the fact that the Yankees are not the Lakers. The Yankees are not a team built of superstars and prima donnas. They’re not Showtime. There’s no clubhouse drama. They don’t pose after a home run swing. They don’t take 31 seconds to round the bases after hitting one out. They don’t talk trash.

Try getting an ego on this team. See what happened to Ruben Sierra the first time around? Try talking back to the coach. See what happened to Raul Mondesi?

The Yankees have been the best team in baseball for the past eight years (please excuse ’97) simply by doing what they have to do in order to win. If that means running with reckless abandon into the stands for a shallow pop fly and taking a bleacher to the face or using your nose to break up a double play, so be it.

Because what it comes down to in the end is the simple fact: The Yankees Play Baseball. As a team.

Think teamwork is easy? Look what happened in L.A. since the Lakers bowed out last month. They’ve fallen apart. Their coach is gone. Their superstars are bolting. They lost ONE series. Hell, the Yankees haven’t won a Series since 2000 and the only person they lost was Don Zimmer.

I have three words for you Yankee Haters out there: Don’t Hate. Love.

But, as we all know, that’ll never happen, so until the Yankees get even with the Yankee Haters, I’ll be rooting and wishing and hoping with all my might that the Yankees keep spending and keep winning.

‘Cause as of right now the Series score is: Yankees 26, Yankee Haters 73.

We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.