KRTCAMPUSThey spend with seemingly reckless abandon. They award lavish, often over-priced contracts despite a lack of real competitive bidding. Their only goal is to win and they will stop at no cost. Here on campus, they are largely detested and reviled. No, I’m not talking about the Republicans. I’m talking about the Yankees who, unlike Republicans, usually balance their budget.
Drawing equal contempt on campus as the team itself are the many students who are Yankees fans. I should know; I am one. With the Yankees’ recent acquisition of Alex Rodriguez though, the intensity of fans’ antipathy for both the team and its supporters should reach new levels. But there’s something you should know about being a Yankees fan. It’s pretty similar to being a fan of any other team-only with a lot more parades.
How is being a fan of a team with a $200 million payroll similar to being a fan of a more modest $75 million club? While your team may save money by skimping on an extra bat off the bench or a lefty reliever, we too are often forced to think about trimming team expenses. Of course, this doesn’t mean actually spending less on the players. Instead, owner George Steinbrenner once contemplated slashing the dental plans of 150 Yankees employees for a savings of $100,000. Now try to imagine yourself rooting for a team knowing that in the future, the team’s employees might not have coverage that would enable them to receive adequate dental care or even regular teeth cleanings. While this may seem shocking and horrible to you, this is an everyday reality for Yankees fans. There’s a reason why three out of four dentists agree the best choice for Yankees employees is to “Get your dental work done before playoff time.”
Fortunately for Yankees fans, this same maniacal owner doesn’t require pulling teeth for his check book to be opened for his players. But let’s not get too carried away here. Steinbrenner, like other active team owners, listens carefully to his “baseball people” understanding that they offer wise and sensible counsel before making personnel decisions. Then, Steinbrenner carefully assesses the possible moves available to him and observes the actions of the rest of the league. Finally, following an exhaustive analysis, Steinbrenner makes a decision based almost solely on personal whim or fancy and without concern for cost.
But these flights of fancy come at a real cost to Yankees fans. Many Yankees fans, like other baseball enthusiasts, play in fantasy rotisserie leagues. With Steinbrenner at the helm of the Yankees, the team itself now resembles a rotisserie team since it was put together to represent the best talent available without cost being a factor. No longer do Yankees fans have the ability to create an entire rotisserie squad of Yankees. Yankees fans will probably be robbed this year of even the chance to have more than two or three Yankees on their fantasy teams.
So, before you say how easy it is to be a Yankees fan, take a step back and remember. Remember the Yankees fans that compete in fantasy leagues who know they won’t be able to have more than a few of their favorite Yankees on their team and yet endure. Remember that after a long night game, there may be an even longer, sleepless night for Yankees fan as they lay awake wondering, “Is a Yankees employee in his bed tonight with yellow, plaque ridden teeth and a possible case of gingivitis? And in our overzealousness for winning are we somehow responsible for this madness?” Remember that it’s not easy to be a Yankee fan.