GREAT DEBATE ON TMKS

So, I was listening to The Michael Kay Show today, which airs in the afternoons on 1050 ESPN Radio (AM dial) in the New York area, and he brought up an interesting topic of conversation. His notion was that if he could give up one of the recent Yankee Dynasty's World Series championships to erase the loss of the '04 ALCS to the Red Sox he would. He put it up for debate, and seemed like most folks agreed that they would definitely trade away that embarrassment and distinction of being the only team to lose from a 3-0 lead (to your hated rival no less). The folks that disagreed were greeted with being called fake fans. Well, I also disagree.

Here's the thing about that loss, and no doubt about it, it was ugly, but you just can't drop a great accomplishment to hide a disappointment. Ever! You have to be proud of what you've accomplished in life and celebrate it. You just don't give that away. That screams "sore loser" to me, which is worse to me than being a "fake fan". Do I wish the Yankees didn't lose that series? Of course! However, contrary to TMKS beliefs, that still makes me a fan, a big one no less.

I can live with that loss for a number of reasons. First off, that team's make-up was lousy. Gary Sheffield and ARod were brought in like mercenaries, and just didn't gel with the core. The rotation was also terribly unequipped to face the Red Sox or anyone of any worth that postseason. The fact that they made it to Game Seven of the ALCS was on Dynasty muscle memory alone. And the Dynasty officially died a year earlier with the World Series loss to the Marlins.

The Yanks deserved to lose that '04 series. After Game Three, they played terribly. They lost their guts, and gave up. It was disgusting to see. Meanwhile, the Red Sox played fantastically, and you had to admire what they did. By the end, I actually wanted them to win and put that sorry excuse for a Yankee team out of their misery, and, honestly, I rooted for them in the World Series. It was just their time. I don't celebrate my fandom by living and dying by how my team's rivals do. I don't have to hate The Mets or the Sox to prove how much I love my team. That's beyond ridiculous to me.

I believe that line of thinking comes from generations prior to mine. I bet polling folks by age groups would reveal that, too. And those in my age group that do have that hatred in them, do so because their parents fandom bled into them. Maybe I'm wrong, and I am a fake fan after all. Either way, I'm not giving up the championships I enjoyed celebrating so much, that the Yanks worked so hard to win. Not to erase a the embarrassment of that loss, one they had every reason to lose anyway. They'll do that with another World Series appearance anyway.

What do you think?