NOT ALL YANKEE FANS ARE THE SAME

This has been a strange week for me. I had moments when I actually told some fellow Yankee fans off. Some of them are RIDICULOUS! And I can easily see why other baseball fans dislike us with such vigor. I have really reached a point where I’d like to have a “House Cleaning” of sorts. Some of you folks won’t make the cut, but fear not, we will have you reassigned…somewhere.

What really got me going this week was the assault on now former Yankee outfielder Curtis Granderson.  To quote a fellow New Yorker, “YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!”



Yes, Curtis will now take the 7 Train to work for the cross-town club out in Queens. Yes, he signed a 4-year deal for $60 million. And yes, at his presser, he mentioned that he’d heard, “Real New Yorkers are Mets’ Fans.” SO WHAT?! Why does that bother you? If you’re a real Yankee fan you don’t sweat the Mets. They are the “other New York team”. I don’t see them as a rival. I don’t really see them at all.

They signed a good player and hope he enjoys Citi Field. And when he plays the Yankees I’ll give him a quick hand when he walks to the plate…and then hope CC fans him on 3 straight.

Why shouldn’t Granderson take a playful jab at his former team and fan base? He is a New York Met now! The Yankees didn’t want him back all that badly. The front office was pretty clear about that, and I don’t care how much of a business the game is, that stings. So Grandy is now ready to do what he did when he was a Yankee. He will play hard everyday. He will do all he can to help his club win and he WILL try to make the Yankees feel as if they’d made a mistake letting him walk. Good for Curtis. The man is a competitor. He is and always has been a class act.

Look, I think the Yanks will be okay without him, but I’ll miss Granderson. He was a good player for us. That's really the end of story, gang.

Some Yankee fans still feel the need to abuse players that leave (sometime through no fault of their own). Well, today is the day we decide NOT to re-sign said “fans”. We’ll be better off.

For years I’ve heard people who root for other clubs run down Yankee Fans. They lop us all together. We’re obnoxious. We’re not passionate unless we’re winning. Wait a damn second! Slow down! We aren’t all the same! Below is a list of things that will get you released from the organization. Enjoy…and if they apply to you, PACK YOUR BAGS!

Let me also state that this is my opinion and not the opinion of all the writers at Bleeding Yankee Blue.  Casey liked what I presented, he's fair... so I went for it. Here it goes...

• Do you own a Yankee Home or Away Jersey with a name stitched on the back above the number? Buh-bye. We know Jeter is #2, pal. Nobody is thinking you are rocking the old Mikey Gallego or Wayne Tolleson.

• Alternate caps…pink? No. I get that some of the ladies think they'e cute, but I am of the belief that women can and do know the game as well as men. Therefore, wear the Navy Blue Yankee Classic Cap, Ladies. The Yankees don’t even wear the green on St. Patty’s day and as an Irishman I’m fine with it.  

(The Military tribute and 4Th of July Caps are more than okay with me by the way. Those are a very different story.)

• If you live in say, Anaheim, California. And you tell everyone you are a Yankee Fan…ACTUALLY BE ONE!! I lived out West for a spell and would go to the “Big A” to see the Yanks when they’d come to town. And it’s those Orange County-Type New York fans that give all Yankee fans a bad name!

• If you are going to wax poetic, please know your stuff…. or at least more than the fact that Jeter and ARod play for your favorite team. Hey, you know what? How ‘bout just no more Anaheim Yankee Fans. Good, I feel better. I mean that stadium is usually just filled with people that thought they were in line for Space Mountain and ended up in a ballpark. Yeah, I don’t like anything about the Halos either.

• Don’t be a hypocrite. I was very disappointed in Robbie Cano and how he has handled his free agency. Hiring Jay Z was a mistake in my opinion, but he probably won’t ever see it that way. He wasn’t after a Yankee legacy or World Championships. Cano wanted big money and he got it.

So when we have Jacoby crossing the rivalry line for a huge contract, we should understand that it’s kind of the same thing. The Red Sox let him walk and he took the big money. Not every player is wowed by the Pinstripes. Some are just drawn to the almighty Yankee dollar…and that’s Okay. It’s not what we want to hear, but it is what it is.

• You have two favorite teams? Get up! Get out! HIT THE DEEGAN! Seriously, beat the traffic now. We don’t need you at the Stadium today. Maybe your other favorite team has room for ya. I have players that I like to watch from other clubs, but another favorite team? Nope. I have a friend that told me he is Yankee die-hard and his second favorite team is the Phillies. What? Awful.

• Don’t Show up in the 4th and leave in the 7th. I get there are things that can hold you up and there are reasons why you’d have to split early. There’s bad traffic, you couldn’t leave work early, have a fussy kid. I get it. But let’s not be Dodger Fans, folks. Leave the beach balls at home. Try to see batting practice and stay for Frank singing “New York, New York”…win or lose...

• No Waves in the Bronx. I won’t explain this one. You want to wave? Hop on a parade float or head up to the Yale Bowl in New Haven for the big game against the Crimson. Boola Boola.

These are just a few of the things that get me fired up. It can be tough to be a Yankee fan. When the club wins, they say we bought it. You can do no such thing in baseball though, that's the truth. When the Bombers lose, they say we deserve it because the Yanks are bad for baseball. That's absolute nonsense. But the thing that can be the most difficult pill to swallow is seeing and hearing "supposed" Yankee Fans do things like run down a solid guy like Granderson…in a Black Yankee Cap…with an away #7 jersey on…that reads, MANTLE. Knock it off.




--Mike O'Hara, MLB Fan Cave Host, Season 1
   Twitter: @mikeyoh21
"Paulie was always my favorite player."



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