Has the Rivalry Really Come To This?

In the Globe today Kevin Cullen make the argument that the Yankees Suck chant should be retired because:

My experience has been that most people who shout “Yankees suck” are either drunk, obnoxious, or stupid and very often a combination of all three. They are an embarrassment to the rest of us, and their chant makes us look like a bunch of local yokels.

At the Yankee blog River Ave Blues has this on the issue:

Growing up a Yankee fan and then attending college a stone’s throw from Philadelphia, I’ve seen my fair share of nasty fan behavior. But one thing I learned from my parents early on — and this puts my firmly in the minority among Yankee fans — is never to do the “Boston sucks” chant.

Why is everyone going all touchy feely now? Its a rivalry, the fans are supposed to abhor their opponent. The fact that fans yell out “Yankees Suck” at a Celtics game shows how big baseball is in Boston and how when the Sox and Yankees get together it is much bigger than any other regular season game. “Yankees Suck” may be crude, unoriginal and not for fans of all ages ,but it is part of the rivalry and will remain so. When fans stop shouting it you know the rivalry is not what it once was.