I've always been a pretty big fan of Survivor, which makes approximately 1 blogger out there who watches that show (let alone television to begin with). And through this obsessive following of a reality show, I've learned one sad fact. Well...two.
1. If you're built up to be the greatest ever, the greatest villain ever, and if you spend the whole time being so much better at things than everybody else, you have to have a gigantic downfall. There's no stopping it. It needs to be huge, it needs to be soul-crushing, and for 70% percent of the viewing audience it needs to be absolutely hysterical.
2. and this was coined by Jonny Fairplay, one of the dirtiest players the game ever had: "To be the man, ya gotta beat the man."
I mention this, because tonight, or more importantly, this week, the Yankees had their downfall. It was worse than anything ever on Survivor, because it was slow, painful, and everybody saw it coming. And absolutely nobody was rooting for the Yankees at the end. Everybody was cheering once they bowed out of the playoffs. Nobody effing likes the Yankees.
And that downfall was absolutely necessary, too. For the past season, the Yanks had dominated, with a nice buncha hubris too, and they needed something like that, sad to say. The Tigers sorta gave them a nice comeuppance, and I feel like this was the best way to end this tragic hero tale.
More importantly, this shifts the power a bit in the MLB. Because the Tigers beat the #1 team in baseball. That's why I brought up the Fairplay quote. Now everybody fears the Tigers. They beat the A's, they outdid the Rangers, and now the Yankees. Now, going into the WS, they're the favorite.
So now what? Who do I root for? There are two scenarios:
1. Cardinals beat the Giants. At this point I have no choice but to root for Detroit. The Cardinals must not win anything else. If the Cards win, my smarmy, in-your-face Cardinal fan friend wins. And I don't want that.
2. Giants beat the Cardinals. Then, and I do this with all apologies to one of my favorite bloggers, who will not like this decision, but then I'll root for the Giants. I don't hate the Giants as much as everyone else does. I saw them play a few seasons ago just as they got hot. And they're a nice fun team. They're not like the band of rag-tag soldiers from 2010. They're a serious team with a serious pitching staff. And I think they can win.
But yeah. It's a sad story, this season. Hopefully there's a light at the end of the tunnel, however dim it is.
The to be the man phrase was used by Ric Flair in the 90s. Just sayin. Sorry your team lost.
ReplyDeleteFairplay was a wrestling fan. I had to tie it to Survivor somehow. I knew he got it from Ric Flair.
DeleteOriginally, I thought you were talking about the band Survivor... You know, Eye of The Tiger, but then I remembered you were a Yankee fan and that just didn't fit.
DeleteGreat post! Santa Claus arrived early this year. Either that or the tooth fairy finally granted my wish. I was bummed that the Oakland A's lost to Detroit, but they helped turn my frown upside down.
ReplyDeleteNow, I'm not trying to rub it in... because trust me I feel your pain. But you're absolutely right, there are a lot of Yankees haters out there. But in my opinion, they brought it on themselves. I don't have anything against the old school Yankees (Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Berra, etc.). The Yankees I can't stand are the Free Agency Era Yankees... the Yankees that attempt to buy titles... the Yankees who lead the league in fairweather fans... the Yankees that use my Athletics as their farm system.
The good news for Yankees fans is that they'll always be in the hunt, because they have no issues with bringing in top talent. If you think the light at the end of your tunnel is dim... imagine what the light looks like for me... I'm an A's and Padres fan... LOL! Every year, I have to sit around figuring out what OTHER teams I'm going to cheer for during the post season. But it's all good... because when one of them eventually makes it back to the World Series, it'll be the greatest feeling in the world.