Phillies Rant (The Virtues of America's Birthplace)
*This was a letter I wrote to my sister in light of the recent baseball tragedy (the context will be difficult to understand for outsiders but the point remains - I was venting)
Furry - can't sleep. So true about (hopefully not) seeing A-Rod at ORC. Although over the last season he's gained a little respect in my eyes for slightly evolving out of his prima donna bullshit since the steroid thing came out - he's still a punk-ass. Typical Yankees player, no personal integrity or respect for the game. To the point where I, a baseball nut, had absolutely no interest in approaching him and attempting to chat when we saw him and his pretty boy frosted-tips catching a Hollywood-esque tan in ORC two years ago. Any true Yankees fan (and there are some, i.e. our step-father) should look at this latest ring as bittersweet - which is precisely how Lou described it. The only people in that organization that shouldn't be struck down by the baseball gods are Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, maybe a few others. If the Yankees had any idea how to run a baseball team they would win the World Series every year. George Steinbrenner doesn't know shit about baseball. Neither does Cashman. When only big wigs on Wall Street can afford decent seats to a World Series game, you have a problem. You have people running your team who don't know the game and you're bound to fail. That's the bottom line. And that's why I have little reason to be upset about losing other than the fact that, duh, we didn't win. And we always want to win. All season long. In NYC, the Yanks (other than Jeter and Rivera) and most of their fans want to win when it's convenient - when they make it to the World Series. April through September is meaningless to them. No one is tuned in. I love visiting, but fuck that city. It sucks the life out of people. I'm sure that's one of the several reasons Nat left. I should ask her. No one has character other than born-and-raised New Yorkers. And even born-and-raised ones usually think simply because they're from the financial and cultural capitol of the world, they're gods’ gift to Earth. It’s that sense of entitlement New Yorkers have that makes them inferior to those of us down the turnpike. Phuck that. People come, capitalize on the many opportunities NYC offers, then generally get out. Philly is everything an East Coast city should be.New York failed to uphold those standards and principles a long time ago. It's unfortunate it's become what it is today. Philly is where this nation and all of our high and mighty (hint of sarcasm) principles was conceived. Our teams and our people who support them are an extension of that, especially when it comes to our national pastime. In NYC, winning is a tradition. In Philly, it’s a way of life. Just like cheesesteaks and soft pretzels and Italian hoagies aren't just delicious foods. And The Roots and Beanie Sigel and Freeway and Billie Holiday and John Coltrane and Teddy Pendergrass and Jill Scott and Will Smith and Eve and Musiq, regardless of your generation and whether or not you listen to them, aren't simply musicians, they’re a part of who we are. We don't win as much as we should, but when we do we earn it. The hard way. The Philly way. We're the class of this country, the best and the brightest, fuck the haters. And stupid people from lesser places love to hate our town. I could write a book about the superiority of Philadelphia to any American city, and maybe I will just to prove a point on our home’s behalf. And I'm from the fucking suburbs. That says something. MotherPhuck NYC, Boston, Houston, LA (even though it’s my next future home), my beloved DC (aka Hollywood For Ugly People), Chicago, San Fran, and all the rest. They all have their merits, but not the complete package. This country would be the class of the world if everyone conducted themselves in the manner of a true Philadelphian. In fact, I firmly believe our next President needs to be a Philadelphian. I know it’s early and I voted for him, but President Chicago is not living up to my expectations. Maybe it’s the laid-back Midwestern tradition that is failing him. If, like Ben Franklin (who could have been a great President) – in my opinion the greatest mind in our nation’s history – Obama had spent his formative years in the City of Brotherly Love, maybe we’d be better off right now (not that Obama hasn’t inherited most of the mess were in, but still). Franklin’s thirteen virtues (at least some of them), like our food and music, are just another aspect of the Philadelphia philosophy. Can't wait to retire in a nice old rowhouse in Olde City. It might have to be sooner than later. Cheers to that principle tenet of the philosophy: home is where the heart is. And trust me, we have a lot of heart.
Furry - can't sleep. So true about (hopefully not) seeing A-Rod at ORC. Although over the last season he's gained a little respect in my eyes for slightly evolving out of his prima donna bullshit since the steroid thing came out - he's still a punk-ass. Typical Yankees player, no personal integrity or respect for the game. To the point where I, a baseball nut, had absolutely no interest in approaching him and attempting to chat when we saw him and his pretty boy frosted-tips catching a Hollywood-esque tan in ORC two years ago. Any true Yankees fan (and there are some, i.e. our step-father) should look at this latest ring as bittersweet - which is precisely how Lou described it. The only people in that organization that shouldn't be struck down by the baseball gods are Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, maybe a few others. If the Yankees had any idea how to run a baseball team they would win the World Series every year. George Steinbrenner doesn't know shit about baseball. Neither does Cashman. When only big wigs on Wall Street can afford decent seats to a World Series game, you have a problem. You have people running your team who don't know the game and you're bound to fail. That's the bottom line. And that's why I have little reason to be upset about losing other than the fact that, duh, we didn't win. And we always want to win. All season long. In NYC, the Yanks (other than Jeter and Rivera) and most of their fans want to win when it's convenient - when they make it to the World Series. April through September is meaningless to them. No one is tuned in. I love visiting, but fuck that city. It sucks the life out of people. I'm sure that's one of the several reasons Nat left. I should ask her. No one has character other than born-and-raised New Yorkers. And even born-and-raised ones usually think simply because they're from the financial and cultural capitol of the world, they're gods’ gift to Earth. It’s that sense of entitlement New Yorkers have that makes them inferior to those of us down the turnpike. Phuck that. People come, capitalize on the many opportunities NYC offers, then generally get out. Philly is everything an East Coast city should be.New York failed to uphold those standards and principles a long time ago. It's unfortunate it's become what it is today. Philly is where this nation and all of our high and mighty (hint of sarcasm) principles was conceived. Our teams and our people who support them are an extension of that, especially when it comes to our national pastime. In NYC, winning is a tradition. In Philly, it’s a way of life. Just like cheesesteaks and soft pretzels and Italian hoagies aren't just delicious foods. And The Roots and Beanie Sigel and Freeway and Billie Holiday and John Coltrane and Teddy Pendergrass and Jill Scott and Will Smith and Eve and Musiq, regardless of your generation and whether or not you listen to them, aren't simply musicians, they’re a part of who we are. We don't win as much as we should, but when we do we earn it. The hard way. The Philly way. We're the class of this country, the best and the brightest, fuck the haters. And stupid people from lesser places love to hate our town. I could write a book about the superiority of Philadelphia to any American city, and maybe I will just to prove a point on our home’s behalf. And I'm from the fucking suburbs. That says something. MotherPhuck NYC, Boston, Houston, LA (even though it’s my next future home), my beloved DC (aka Hollywood For Ugly People), Chicago, San Fran, and all the rest. They all have their merits, but not the complete package. This country would be the class of the world if everyone conducted themselves in the manner of a true Philadelphian. In fact, I firmly believe our next President needs to be a Philadelphian. I know it’s early and I voted for him, but President Chicago is not living up to my expectations. Maybe it’s the laid-back Midwestern tradition that is failing him. If, like Ben Franklin (who could have been a great President) – in my opinion the greatest mind in our nation’s history – Obama had spent his formative years in the City of Brotherly Love, maybe we’d be better off right now (not that Obama hasn’t inherited most of the mess were in, but still). Franklin’s thirteen virtues (at least some of them), like our food and music, are just another aspect of the Philadelphia philosophy. Can't wait to retire in a nice old rowhouse in Olde City. It might have to be sooner than later. Cheers to that principle tenet of the philosophy: home is where the heart is. And trust me, we have a lot of heart.
Thoughts? Yankee fan rebuttal?
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