Much as I hate to do it, I am going to add to the pile of Red Sox-related content here at OffTheBench. Four out of our last seven posts have involved the the Sox one way or another, and I am going to make it five out of eight. Oh and Ari, you are not going to like this post one bit.
Every fan “hates” their team’s rivals, but there are two MLB teams toward whom far more loathing is directed than any others. Even if we disregard the mutual animosity emanating from their rivalry, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox are hated, universally, by the fans of all 28 other teams. But I am here to tell you that the catalysts for that hatred are different, that the Red Sox deserve to be hated way more than the Yankees, and finally that the Yankees are in fact hated, while the Sox are despised.
First let me clarify the difference in how I use “hated” and “despised.” Being hated means that people don’t like you, intensely, for whatever reason, and direct hostility and ill-will in your direction. Being despised is the same as being hated, but it connotes a deeper disgust, aimed at the core of your being, principles, and everything you stand for. The antonym of despise is admire, while the antonym of hate is love.
So why the difference between the Yankees and Red Sox? Let me pass this on to Boston’s very own Bob Ryan, courtesy of YouTube and “After the Horn 6-22-12”
http://youtu.be/wvi1etdS260
The New York Yankees are the only Dynasty in MLB history. They have won and won and won, throughout the ages, through player and coach turnover, and changes in ownership. People hate the Yankees because they are perennial winners, and they carry themselves as such. This obviously cannot be said about the Red Sox. Nobody hates the Red Sox because they are perennial winners. They, along with the Cubs, were the biggest losers in MLB history, and Americans are infatuated with underdogs and lovable losers. So why the hatred then?
The Red Sox have never been treated like losers. They get more press time and national coverage than anyone but the Yankees, yet they have won as many World Series in the last 90 years as the Marlins. And the Marlins have been around for about 25% of those 90 years. Yes Boston has won two in the last 10 years, but their treatment as the number two team in the sport has been around much longer. They are considered to be the class of the AL with very little on their resume to suggest that they deserve that distinction. It is a huge fault of the media, to treat them this way, but that isn’t all of why people hate them.
Just as the Yankees act like winners on the field, the Red Sox try to act like it in the front office. They spend tons of money buying up big ticket free agents, they think project an assumption of excellence–an assumption that they are going to win the World Series every year–and they think the “storied history” of the franchise justifies it. In reality, the Red Sox are not better than everybody else, and beyond their 86 year losing streak their history is not even that impressive. The only thing the Red Sox franchise can boast about is being the rivals of the Yankees. And as that “storied history” demonstrates, it’s been a very one sided rivalry.
Now let’s bring this back to hatred, and use a scenario everyone can relate to; let’s personify the two teams as high school students.
The Yankees would be the starting quarterback. They’d date the hottest cheerleader, get a full ride to Stanford, and also probably be the valedictorian and Student Body President. They’d look down on rest of the kids in an elitest manner, but it would be understandable, because everyone just knew that he was indeed elite. Everyone hates that kid, but on some level they all want to be him too.
The Red Sox would be a random, kind of wimpy kid on something like the cross country team. They’d have gotten beaten up a lot in elementary school and the first part of high school, but then their parents would have hit the lottery or gotten a sleazy personal-injury settlement. All of a sudden, they’d have money and toys. Even though they they never won a race, never had a girlfriend, and failed half of their classes, they’d start to look down on everybody else because they had the cash and nice new clothes. Everyone despises that kid from the depths of their soul.
People hate the Yankees because they are better than everyone else and know it. But everybody wishes their team could be the Yankees instead of the Cubs or Mariners or Nationals. People despise the Red Sox because they aren’t better than everyone else but think they are, and not a single person wishes that their team could be the Red Sox. (That is, assuming they actually follow baseball and know anything about the history of the sport, because, if there is one thing the Red Sox do right, it’s appeal to the uneducated, bandwagon fan.)
My message to the Red Sox and their fans: Figure it out, meat. You are not the Yankees and never will be. Don’t think you are their equals, they have no equals. Consider yourself part of a larger group of lesser franchises, and know that they all think you are the biggest dick in school. But as far as I’m concerned, keep this hatred going. Afterall, it’s the only thing you have been able to do with any type of consistency throughout your “storied history.”
-David Ringold (A well-documented Seattle Mariners fan)
Stat of the Day: 27-7 World Series rings, Yankees-Red Sox
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