Yankees- The Girardi era
I have always been a Yankees fan – as was my Grandmother. I was born in Buffalo and grew up in Victor, New York – a suburb of Rochester. Western New York does not have a Major League baseball team. As a kid we had cable television and received WPIX out of New York City. WPIX would run the New York Yankees baseball games. So that is who I started to cheer for. Reggie Jackson was the big player in those days and so it was an exciting time to watch. I can also recall former Yankee player Phil “The Scooter” Rizzuto doing his commercials for The Money Store. This was a place where one could go and receive short-term cash loans. Today, it would be classified as a “payday loan”, but back then it was different. To this day I have one of his commercials memorized. It went like this, “Holy cow we made it! The Money Store is now in New York State and up to no limit whatsoever.” That made such an impression on my young mind that I reapeated it over and over and over – much to the dismay of my mother. Sometimes I repeat it now to her just to bring a smile to her face. When was in high school we moved to a new city with their own hometown baseball team. My family started following the home team, but I stayed a Yankees fan. I must have picked up this trait from my Grandmother. She moved from Buffalo, New York to South Florida in the late Seventies, but stayed a Yankees fan. She followed the games more closely once she retired. If the game was being broadcast on television, she would tune-in. She knew the players, the stats, the schedule, everything. She loved it. She passed away last year and while going through her affects, I found a New York Yankees t-shirt in her closet. It was ironed and hanging, lovingly, on a wooden hanger. I could tell that she took care of her Yankees t-shirt. I took the t-shirt with me and now it hangs lovingly in my closet. I haven’t even put it on yet – I don’t want to wrinkle it. Funny thing to say about a t-shirt.
There seem to be two kinds of people: those who love the New York Yankees and those who can’t stand them. To me, they have always been America’s Team. They are like Apple Pie and the Flag. They are America. I don’t think I’m the only one who views them like that. I also know that there are many people who DON’T share my point of view.
I had the great opportunity to meet George Steinbrenner during the ‘96 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She was standing outside CNN waiting for someone. I turned to my girlfriend – later wife – and said, ‘That’s George Steinbrenner. Owner of the Yankees.” She suggested that I go over and ask to have my picture taken with him. I didn’t dare speak to him. Afterall, it was Steinbrenner! But she walked right over to him and asked if he would mind having his picture taken with me. He didn’t mind at all. He was very friendly and extremely well dressed. I had on my New York Yankees ballcap that day and after my girlfriend asked to have a picture, he responded with, “Anything for anyone wearing that hat.” And he meant it.
