YANKEE PRIDE IN TEXAS...ALWAYS PROUD

This piece was written by a Bleeding Yankee Blue reader and a loyal one at that. Not only that, a true Yankee fan. I was touched by it, because, it just goes to show, there are Yankee fans everywhere, even Texas, the home of the Rangers. Stay true!

--Casey

I turned 31 this August, which means that, in my entire life, the Yankees have won five championships: 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. The earliest I remember watching a baseball game is at six years of age. By that reasoning, so, needless to say, I've also watched the Yankees fail to win a World Series title.

I have some great memories though, memories I'll never forget. I watched Scott Brosius blast a three-run homer in Game 3 of the 1998 World Series and that was me screaming my head off in my apartment in 2009 when Andy Pettitte, Hideki Matsui and Mariano Rivera practically handed us fans Game 6 against the Phillies for number 27.

I was also devastated when David Wells gave up Game 4 of the 2002 ALCS, when the Angels swept the Yankees and went on to win the World Series. Lastly, I, like most of my fellow Yankees fans, sat and watched in disappointment as the Yankees were eliminated on an ARod strikeout for the second year in a row.

The difference this time is that I was watching in Dallas, Texas, where I now live, as opposed to my hometown of the Bronx. I was in Dallas last year, surrounded by front runner and bandwagon Rangers "fans" who bought their t-shirts the day before the game off a roadside vendor. This time, again, the Rangers advance the World Series while the Yankees stay at home and there is no shortage of Yankees jabs. I get to hear about everything from the payroll to the PED controversies. I sit, smile and let them know...wait until next year.

Next year, at Spring Training, I will still be watching. On Opening Day 2012, I will still be watching. I will be watching for every game and every at bat. I will be watching the Yankees make the playoffs again and I will be watching when they enter the World Series and win #28. I will be wearing my Yankees hat and jersey and shirt proud, because it doesn't matter that I live in Texas, I have true Yankee pride. I will be doing all of this no matter where I am, where I live or whom I'm with.

True Yankees pride doesn't stem from numbers, payroll or merchandise. Pride comes from tradition, a legacy and the knowledge that this "thing" is bigger than each individual and greater than the sum of all its parts. Yankees fans need not despair. We can be disappointed and sad that we didn't make it. We can analyze and question why we lost and look for people to blame.

But what you should never do is put your head down. At the end of the day, we are Yankees fans and no one and nothing can ever take that away from us. Especially not a two-week fan.

-- Fox Luu, BYB Guest Writer

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