jordanb said:
The Yankees suck. I don't know why anyone would be a Yankees fan. It's like rooting for the Empire in Star Wars.
People are Yankee fans because it's what they grew up with--it's history. I come from a long line of Yankee fans--I'm a 4th generation and my nephew is the 5th! Furthermore, let's reflect--everyone dislikes the Yanks because they "win all the time." Sure, historically, they've won 26 World Series but only 4 have been relatively recent--prior to the 1996 win, the Yanks hadn't won a world series since 1981 (coincidentally, the year of my birth). Therefore, for the formative years of my youth I dealt with loss, a World Series win for the Amazin' Mets in '86 (Buckner), and all I had was Donny Baseball and the Albany/Colonie Yankees to see me through.
So, sure, get annoyed with people who wear pink baseball hats and who think Jeter is God and that have become bandwagon Yankee fans (or Red Sox).
But in the past couple years, aside from Giambi and A-Rod (who the Red Sox couldn't land and Yanks didn't want until they NEEDED a 3rd baseman when Boone blew his knee out), the majority of the Yanks core players were all farm team players. Jeter, Bernie Williams, Posada, Andy Pettite (former Yank), Soriano (now with Rangers), Shane Spencer (was clutch during the '98 series)--all came up through the farm system.
And, lastly, it's my contention that if you have enough money invest in a major league baseball team, then you probably have enough money to spend to get the marquis players. Which begs the question, is George Steinbrenner really a terrible person/owner because he's willing to put his own money towards something he truly believes in or are other owners just too cheap to shell out money to get decent players? He bought the team for 12 million in 1973--one hell of an investment. Do I think there should be a salary cap? Sure. But I can't blame the guy (Steinbrenner) for wanting to win.