September 28, 2001: Bronx, New York

For some reason, I waited until my junior year at Fordham to attend my first Yankees game. I will admit to having rooted for the Yankees during my high school years, even joining classmates at the 1996 and 1998 Yankee parades, but I was never a passionate Yankees fan. When I began my college career at Fordham, located a few train stops away from Yankee Stadium, I decided to go against popular opinion and pledge my allegiance to the other team in town: the New York Mets. Maybe it was the fact that the Yankees organization thought it was better than everyone else, or Yankee fans’ arrogant attitude, but I never had my heart with the team. During my Fordham days, I found myself watching the Mets instead of the Bronx Bombers. Even though my love for the Mets grew, I had respect for the Yankee players: Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, and Paul O’Neil (my favorite). As the years rolled on, Yankees management (i.e., George Steinbrenner) filled his team with overpriced players who could not deliver (e.g., Alex Rodriguez, Javier Vazquez, and Jeff Weaver). I began despising the Yankees organization and their fans, who seem to think “The Yankees shall win the World Series every year” is the 11^th Commandment. Despite my current feelings for the Yankees, their players, fans, and organization, I have to give credit where credit is due; Yankee Stadium was a national monument. [Read more…]