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bktheirregularFrom dailykos.com.
I've been fairly quiet on this subject because, hey, I know Yankee-hating is a theological thing for some people; also, unlike some Yankee fans, I'm not a total greed-head, and I recognize many would resent the team's massive success in recent times (which, honestly, have been enough to last me the rest of my lifetime). I wish, though, some people could recognize that some of us are New Yorkers and attached to the team early on (in my case, my first game was Labor Day '61, where I saw Maris hit #'s 52 and 53), and this shouldn't permanently exclude us from the fraternity of goodness.
In fact, to be really radical, I'll suggest that Democratic hopefuls should be ROOTING for the Yanks, because their success coincides dramatically with good fortune for our party.
This may seem counter-intuitive, since the team first rose to prominence during the GOP 20s. But that all changed when Babe Ruth made his famous comment on Pres. Hoover, "I had a better year than he did". Call it the Curse ON the Bambino, but ever since, Republicans in the White House have been bad luck for NY, and Dems the opposite.
Consider: NY next won a Series in 1932 (by which time almost anyone was having a better year than Hoover). The 20 years of Roosevelt/Truman were phenomenal Yankee years -- 13 Series appearances and 12 victories. The Eisenhower years are often thought of as Yankee-dominated, but they pale by comparison -- yeah, six Series appearances, but only a 3-3 split in wins. Kennedy's taking of the White House, however, immediately led to two Yankee championships. But the era of both Dems and the Bombers was waning. The Dodgers took the Yanks in 4 in 1963; a few weeks later, Kennedy was dead. NY and LBJ rallied for one last hurrah in '64, but then the Dark Ages set in.
NY didn't return to the Classic till '76 -- and, coincidentally, the Dems won their first election since LBJ. The initial Carter years brought back to back NY championships. But, again, bad times were on their way: Goose Gossage broke his thumb, and the hostages were taken in Iran. When the Royals swept the Yankees in the '80 playoffs, the coming Reagan landslide should have been visible to everyone. The 80s are widely heralded as the first decade since the 20s without a Yankee championship. Discounting the waning days of Carter, they were also most lacking a Democratic president.
Bill Clinton's ascendancy gave new hope to NY, and almost immediately the team began contending again. They actually had the best record in the league through mid-summer '94...until the deadly strike wiped out the season. Should anyone have then been surprised by the Gingrich takeover of Congress?
Fortunately, Clinton proved resilient, and so did the Bronx team -- both won big in '96, and continued to dominate throughout the rest of the term. This of course includes 2000, when an odd wrinkle arose. As many baseball fans know, the NY Mets have an almost opposite history -- virtually all their best years have coincided with GOP administrations. For the Yanks and Mets to face off in a Series was like an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. A virtually tied election was the obvious result.
Since Bush's installation, of course, the Yanks have been prominent, but have consistently fallen short (even if it took a Rivera misplay to barely bring about). George continuers to spend money hand-over-fist to try and bring the trophy back NY way. But he'd be better advised to forego his Republican ways for once and donate the max to Kerry. The history doesn't lie: Democratic victories and Yankee success go hand in hand.
I've been fairly quiet on this subject because, hey, I know Yankee-hating is a theological thing for some people; also, unlike some Yankee fans, I'm not a total greed-head, and I recognize many would resent the team's massive success in recent times (which, honestly, have been enough to last me the rest of my lifetime). I wish, though, some people could recognize that some of us are New Yorkers and attached to the team early on (in my case, my first game was Labor Day '61, where I saw Maris hit #'s 52 and 53), and this shouldn't permanently exclude us from the fraternity of goodness.
In fact, to be really radical, I'll suggest that Democratic hopefuls should be ROOTING for the Yanks, because their success coincides dramatically with good fortune for our party.
This may seem counter-intuitive, since the team first rose to prominence during the GOP 20s. But that all changed when Babe Ruth made his famous comment on Pres. Hoover, "I had a better year than he did". Call it the Curse ON the Bambino, but ever since, Republicans in the White House have been bad luck for NY, and Dems the opposite.
Consider: NY next won a Series in 1932 (by which time almost anyone was having a better year than Hoover). The 20 years of Roosevelt/Truman were phenomenal Yankee years -- 13 Series appearances and 12 victories. The Eisenhower years are often thought of as Yankee-dominated, but they pale by comparison -- yeah, six Series appearances, but only a 3-3 split in wins. Kennedy's taking of the White House, however, immediately led to two Yankee championships. But the era of both Dems and the Bombers was waning. The Dodgers took the Yanks in 4 in 1963; a few weeks later, Kennedy was dead. NY and LBJ rallied for one last hurrah in '64, but then the Dark Ages set in.
NY didn't return to the Classic till '76 -- and, coincidentally, the Dems won their first election since LBJ. The initial Carter years brought back to back NY championships. But, again, bad times were on their way: Goose Gossage broke his thumb, and the hostages were taken in Iran. When the Royals swept the Yankees in the '80 playoffs, the coming Reagan landslide should have been visible to everyone. The 80s are widely heralded as the first decade since the 20s without a Yankee championship. Discounting the waning days of Carter, they were also most lacking a Democratic president.
Bill Clinton's ascendancy gave new hope to NY, and almost immediately the team began contending again. They actually had the best record in the league through mid-summer '94...until the deadly strike wiped out the season. Should anyone have then been surprised by the Gingrich takeover of Congress?
Fortunately, Clinton proved resilient, and so did the Bronx team -- both won big in '96, and continued to dominate throughout the rest of the term. This of course includes 2000, when an odd wrinkle arose. As many baseball fans know, the NY Mets have an almost opposite history -- virtually all their best years have coincided with GOP administrations. For the Yanks and Mets to face off in a Series was like an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. A virtually tied election was the obvious result.
Since Bush's installation, of course, the Yanks have been prominent, but have consistently fallen short (even if it took a Rivera misplay to barely bring about). George continuers to spend money hand-over-fist to try and bring the trophy back NY way. But he'd be better advised to forego his Republican ways for once and donate the max to Kerry. The history doesn't lie: Democratic victories and Yankee success go hand in hand.
