Post by Joey - A Great Teammate on Oct 31, 2007 23:13:53 GMT -5
Hey everyone, I'm Joey (some people may refer to me as LLaRo, which is a play on my last name). I recently turned 21 and was born and raised in Las Vegas. I'm currently in my 4th year at the Univ. of Nev. Las Vegas as a Finance major and still have a few semesters to go. I am planning on getting my Master's soon thereafter. As for sports, my dad is from Connecticut and my mom was born in New Jersey. Both sides of my family have been Yankee fans for a long, long time. My football team is actually the 49ers, who I admired in the late 80s and early 90s along with my parents, so that has stuck. I don't officially have an NBA team but I pull for the Spurs because Tim Duncan may be the most underappreciated player ever simply because he does his job like a professional.
I have been playing fantasy baseball for about 5 years, as well as fantasy basketball and football (which pale in comparison). I haven't played in a league where money was on the line so I'm definitely looking forward to the challenge.
I have something I would like to get off my chest. It does pertain to my philosophy on baseball and my team name.
My mini-rant:
As a Yankee fan, I obviously do not like the Red Sox. However, I do respect them because I know how good they are and they are a threat every time they step on the field. I also respected their fans because (like Cub fans) they have stuck with their team through it all (Dent, Buckner, Tony C, etc...). That was until this explosion of "Red Sox Nation." First of all, this "Red Sox Nation" began forming in about 2001-2002 as a big group of Yankee haters - people who did not like the Yankees because they have so much money and they buy championships and blah blah blah... Therefore, they rooted against them. OK... I see that as a cop out if you are a Twins fan or something rooting against the Yankees while you're team isn't even involved but that's neither here nor there. Then, 2004 rolled around and the Red Sox made an amazing comeback in a series that I (honestly) never felt we had won (even after winning Game 3 by more than 10 runs). This entire group of Yankee haters suddenly latched on to this team that the media fell in love with, and who slayed the hated, rich Yankees. So, by default these people became "fans" of the Red Sox and "Red Sox Nation" was born. I don't have any respect for these "fans," who just hopped on for the good times and wear their Red Sox hat like they know why it's called Pesky's Pole, who Carlton Fisk was, that Cy Young played for them back in the day, and that a guy named Mo Vaughn was once on "their" team. Rather, I respect the die hards who felt the pain when Tony Conigliaro took that pitch in the face, when Bucky Dent went yard over the Monster, when Mookie hit that dribbler to Buckner and Knight came around to score, and so forth. They are the ones who deserve to wear their hats and jerseys with pride. These are the ones who realize that Teddy Ballgame's career OPS+ is greater than not only Papi's and Manny's, but every other player who ever put on a jersey not named George Herman Ruth. I can always spot those people. I just love asking people who their baseball team is and 6 out of 10 say, "the Red Sox" and most of them later reveal how they hopped on the bandwagon at some point, or they say "Gesundheit" after you ask them about guys with names like "Yastremski" or "Eckersley." In summary, 4 or 5 years ago, you just did not see people wearing Red Sox hats (at least here on the west coast - obviously they did in Boston and in the Northeast). They weren't mainstream or even "cool." There was too much baggage to be a fan, too much heartache; but once that was erased and put out of memory, "Red Sox Nation" flooded ballparks across America.
(Note: I do realize the term "Red Sox Nation" was penned back in the 80s in reference to fans of the red sox. However, it hadn't become a mainstream/household phrase until a few years ago and now you have to actually pay to be an official member of it... wow)
Sorry this went on so long, but it really does frustrate me. Any comments are definitely welcome. I look forward to forming this league, the rules, and ultimately getting started. Later fellas...
I have been playing fantasy baseball for about 5 years, as well as fantasy basketball and football (which pale in comparison). I haven't played in a league where money was on the line so I'm definitely looking forward to the challenge.
I have something I would like to get off my chest. It does pertain to my philosophy on baseball and my team name.
My mini-rant:
As a Yankee fan, I obviously do not like the Red Sox. However, I do respect them because I know how good they are and they are a threat every time they step on the field. I also respected their fans because (like Cub fans) they have stuck with their team through it all (Dent, Buckner, Tony C, etc...). That was until this explosion of "Red Sox Nation." First of all, this "Red Sox Nation" began forming in about 2001-2002 as a big group of Yankee haters - people who did not like the Yankees because they have so much money and they buy championships and blah blah blah... Therefore, they rooted against them. OK... I see that as a cop out if you are a Twins fan or something rooting against the Yankees while you're team isn't even involved but that's neither here nor there. Then, 2004 rolled around and the Red Sox made an amazing comeback in a series that I (honestly) never felt we had won (even after winning Game 3 by more than 10 runs). This entire group of Yankee haters suddenly latched on to this team that the media fell in love with, and who slayed the hated, rich Yankees. So, by default these people became "fans" of the Red Sox and "Red Sox Nation" was born. I don't have any respect for these "fans," who just hopped on for the good times and wear their Red Sox hat like they know why it's called Pesky's Pole, who Carlton Fisk was, that Cy Young played for them back in the day, and that a guy named Mo Vaughn was once on "their" team. Rather, I respect the die hards who felt the pain when Tony Conigliaro took that pitch in the face, when Bucky Dent went yard over the Monster, when Mookie hit that dribbler to Buckner and Knight came around to score, and so forth. They are the ones who deserve to wear their hats and jerseys with pride. These are the ones who realize that Teddy Ballgame's career OPS+ is greater than not only Papi's and Manny's, but every other player who ever put on a jersey not named George Herman Ruth. I can always spot those people. I just love asking people who their baseball team is and 6 out of 10 say, "the Red Sox" and most of them later reveal how they hopped on the bandwagon at some point, or they say "Gesundheit" after you ask them about guys with names like "Yastremski" or "Eckersley." In summary, 4 or 5 years ago, you just did not see people wearing Red Sox hats (at least here on the west coast - obviously they did in Boston and in the Northeast). They weren't mainstream or even "cool." There was too much baggage to be a fan, too much heartache; but once that was erased and put out of memory, "Red Sox Nation" flooded ballparks across America.
(Note: I do realize the term "Red Sox Nation" was penned back in the 80s in reference to fans of the red sox. However, it hadn't become a mainstream/household phrase until a few years ago and now you have to actually pay to be an official member of it... wow)
Sorry this went on so long, but it really does frustrate me. Any comments are definitely welcome. I look forward to forming this league, the rules, and ultimately getting started. Later fellas...