Every since it became a possibility that the Yankees and Phillies would meet in this years World Series, I have been "interrogated" by friends and associates as to which team I would be rooting for. Most of my friends know that I am a big fan of both teams. How can one become a fan of both teams? I'll tell you...
I was born in Philadelphia but moved with my mother to Ft. Lauderdale as a toddler. My next door neighbor Todd (shout out), was a baseball fan and he got me all excited about T-ball. At that time, the only professional baseball we could see live, were the Yankees, who played their Spring Training games at Ft. Lauderdale Yankee Stadium (in 1995 the yanks moved to Tampa). We saw Don Mattingly play in pinstripes before he stepped foot in the Bronx, So don't tell me about rooting for the Yanks. We saw Dave Winfield, Craig Nettles and even Yogi Berra who showed up at spring training. During the regular season, Yankees home games were televised exclusively in South Florida. So, the Yanks were all we knew.
In my elementary school years, I began to spend my summers in Philadelphia with my grandparents. Summer nights in the 80's belonged to the Phillies. At sundown, you could hear Harry Kalas broadcasting the Phillies on transistor radios by old guys on our block in North Philly. Those great Phillies teams of the 80's with Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose, could only muster one World Series Championship though. I remember in 83, me and my cousin Derrick cried when the Phils lost to the Orioles. Being a fan of a Philadelphia team has more often than not lead to heartbreak.
So who do i root for this year? Well I've now lived in New York longer than I've ever lived anywhere, so this is home. However, you never forget where you come from. The Phillies won last year and the Yanks are hungry this year. But rooting for the Yanks over the Phillies is like rooting for Starbucks to beat Mom and Pop's coffee shop. A-Rod has played his heart out to get a ring...
So who am i rooting for? I'm rooting for the team in Pinstripes.
