Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Yankees versus Phillies
I'll watch & enjoy this series. I'm not certain if I care who wins. Leaning toward The Phillies. For me, it isn't the matchup arranged by Beelzelbub as claimed by Mets Heads. That would've been Boston vs. Rockies.
The sentimental, media, & Fox Sports fantasy was Yankees-Dodgers, who haven't met since 1981.
What we have this year are the two best teams.
I grew up in a non-fanatical Yankee home, the sort of white, middle class family where the Yankees were the default team because they always won & so made few emotional demands. This was before they entered the wilderness that led to the Zoo teams of the 70's. Those teams were not worth the absurd, angry emotions they generated, so I walked away, over to Shea, as I became more of a baseball fan. Jersey was & still is, a two market sports state. Used to be defined approximately by the original 201 & 609 area codes. 609 South Jersey was The Phillies (& Eagles & Flyers). TV & radio broadcast most clearly from Philadelphia (You could pick up Yankee radio games almost everywhere on the Jersey shore), The big newspapers were delivered fresh from Philly & the Atlantic City Press emphasized Philly teams. From Long Beach Island south, the proportion of vacationers from Pennsy went way up
. But you found Phillies fans as far north as Asbury Park.
So a Yankees-Phillies series is a Jersey Turnpike (& Parkway) series. It's hard for me to blame the Phillies for late season collapses when The Mets blew their own chances & the Phils just happened to be there, next in line. I like a lot of the Phillies players, though they insult The Mets. My favorite Yankee is an aging samurai-for-hire with bad knees & a beautiful swing named Hideki Matsui. He'll probably be looking for another team after this season.
I admit I'm not the type of hardcore Mets fan unable to watch or follow this Series in any shape or form.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
The sentimental, media, & Fox Sports fantasy was Yankees-Dodgers, who haven't met since 1981.
What we have this year are the two best teams.
I grew up in a non-fanatical Yankee home, the sort of white, middle class family where the Yankees were the default team because they always won & so made few emotional demands. This was before they entered the wilderness that led to the Zoo teams of the 70's. Those teams were not worth the absurd, angry emotions they generated, so I walked away, over to Shea, as I became more of a baseball fan. Jersey was & still is, a two market sports state. Used to be defined approximately by the original 201 & 609 area codes. 609 South Jersey was The Phillies (& Eagles & Flyers). TV & radio broadcast most clearly from Philadelphia (You could pick up Yankee radio games almost everywhere on the Jersey shore), The big newspapers were delivered fresh from Philly & the Atlantic City Press emphasized Philly teams. From Long Beach Island south, the proportion of vacationers from Pennsy went way up
. But you found Phillies fans as far north as Asbury Park.So a Yankees-Phillies series is a Jersey Turnpike (& Parkway) series. It's hard for me to blame the Phillies for late season collapses when The Mets blew their own chances & the Phils just happened to be there, next in line. I like a lot of the Phillies players, though they insult The Mets. My favorite Yankee is an aging samurai-for-hire with bad knees & a beautiful swing named Hideki Matsui. He'll probably be looking for another team after this season.
I admit I'm not the type of hardcore Mets fan unable to watch or follow this Series in any shape or form.
Labels: baseball, jersey shore, sports
