Pinstripe Pride: Reaction From A Yankee Fan
By John Bonini
As Red Sox Nation flooded Yawkey Way in celebration, it would have been easy for a Yankees fan such as myself to shout profanities at the television, break something in frustration, or unleash anger toward the Red Sox, but instead by emotions were that of pride.
Sure, the Yankees lost the American League Championship Series and our shot at the Fall Classic, and yes we blew a 3-0 series lead to our arch nemesis, but the bigger picture shows that the Bronx Bomber along with their fans have nothing to hang their heads about. The Yankees won their 7th straight division titles this year, they also caused just about everyone in Las Vegas to have heart attacks on the betting tables by going up 3-0 against the Sox. But we couldn't expect it to be that easy, not with this much at stake.
Even as a die-hard Yankee fan, at times you must tip your cap to your opponent, and while I will never root for the Red Sox a day in my life, winning four straight games against any team in the playoffs is quite a feat. The Yankees simply let this one get away, and while anger may be the most prominent emotion among Yankee players and fans, I see some good coming from this.
This series loss will make the Yankees a better team in the long run, having experienced such a tough loss such as this, they will remember the tastes in their mouths. It also takes a load of pressure off of the Yankees in the future, no longer do they feel they have to beat the Sox because we've never lost to them before. That is no longer the case, and now the Yankees can simply worry about baseball and winning. Some may think this rivalry may die out a bit because Red Sox will have nothing more to wish for, or complain about, but I feel this will make it stronger now that both teams have beaten each other and have experienced both sides of the table.
So as I embark on a day in which I'm sure comments will fly my way like debris on the field in game 6, I wear my Yankees cap with pride. On the same day the Yankees will be clearing out the locker and heading south for the winter, I am more proud than ever to be a Yankees fan. Sure the weather is not always nice outside, but I go out in the rain as well as the sun. It's how you react as a fan and a player in these situations that reveal your character and loyalty to a team, I think the Yankees handled it well last night, and so have I. So the champagne will have to stay on ice until next year, but there's plenty to walk tall about, and I'll do it with my pinstripes on.
