JETER'S A 'LEGEND', BUT WE KNEW THAT ALREADY

...and so do you.

Someone emailed me asking why BYB didn't report on the fact that Derek Jeter received the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports 'Legend' Award or the ESPY Icon award.  I simply wrote back... "Why?"

I wasn't being a dick, or, at least I didn't mean to be. I need to be honest with you, we here at Bleeding Yankee Blue and plenty of other blogs and fans have been calling Derek Jeter an positive role model, legend, icon, whatever you want, for 20 years now.  He was a good kid with a ton of upside when he started with the Yanks. He developed into an incredible leader and force with the Yankees during their historic championship run, and you know what? Calling him a 'Legend' or 'Icon' has been well established by now.  If you just want to watch his speech and when he gets dumped with slimy gold, be my guest, here's the video, it's very funny.  Knock yourself out:


But the truth is, we all love Derek, ALL OF US.  Remember when I wrote that piece in USA Today a while back?  Read JETER, BYB & LOYALTY if you need a refresher... it was there that I kind of defined my position for Jeter for ever and ever. Here's a portion:

"I think about the way Jeter carries himself on and off the field. He’s a role model to my children—probably yours, too. I think about the way he understands what it means to be a Yankee: The responsibility to be better than the average ballplayer—on and off the field. Why, you ask? Well the answer is simple: He wears the pinstripes; he has to be better. And that’s why we love him."

Bottom line... Derek Jeter IS iconic. These days... Jeter IS a legend.  But, you, me, my mom and the postman already knew that.

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