Back in 2001, I decided to begin cheering for the New York Yankees. Everyone was jumping on the Red Sox bandwagon, and I was rooting for the Bronx Bombers during that epic playoff series that was won by the Yankees when Aaron Boone jacked the home run. Even though they ended up losing in the World Series that year to the Arizona Daimondbacks, I was hooked and I joined my dad Bob and my brother Brad in rooting for them.
They defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 tonight, winning the World Series 4 games to 2. This was the first time in any sport that a team I have been rooting for has won the national championship.* I celebrated by grinning when Mark Teixeira caught the game-winning out at first base and the Yanks doggy-piled at the mound. It feels good to root for a champion!!
This was the Yankees' 27th World Championship in baseball's history, but only the second this decade after winning the decade's opening Series in the Subway Series in 2000 over the New York Mets.
Despite winning two titles this decade, though, I think the Yankees fall short of getting Team of the Decade honors. That honor still goes to the Boston Red Sox, as much as I hate typing that. The Red Sox also won two World Series (2004 and 2007), and had one less World Series appearance than New York, but the Red Sox get the nod due to the way they won their championships. In 2004, they came back from 3-0 down to beat the Yankees to the AL pennant. They then swept the Cardinals to dramatically break their long-term curse. They cemented their status in 2007 by sweeping the Colorado Rockies for the title.
* my favorite college football team--the Brigham Young University Cougars--won the 1984 national championship. But I was too young to remember, so I don't count myself as a witness to the event or as a fan of that specific team.
No comments:
Post a Comment