An Ode to the Yankees

          No one can ever deny that the New York Yankees and their fans have heart. I was privy to it last Monday when I was fortunate enough to attend Game Three of the World Series, the first game of the series at Yankee Stadium, with the home team already down 2-0. However, as former Yankee Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over until it’s over.” Although the performance of the Yankees was clearly off, the camaraderie of playoff baseball was still there. Whether you are sitting in the bleachers, the Legends Suite, or anywhere in between, watching any game with the potential of the Yankees being shutout, there is an undeniable energy at Yankee Stadium which cannot be rivaled by any other sports stadium in the world. There is always that one fan with a mouthful of popcorn or someone scarfing down his ninth hot dog or beer, shouting things like “that was so far outside, it needed a ticket to get in!” at the umpire or “yo, there’s 25,000 people behind you, sit down…” to the fan in front of them. There’s a sense of togetherness amongst the fans; we all bleed blue, and the fact that we are in this together keeps our faith high and the fun alive no matter what the scoreboard says. To say Game Three was a practice in team loyalty and commitment is an understatement. Everyone who truly loved the Yankees was present, as it might have been our last time seeing them until Summer 2025. 

          It is the pride of former first-baseman Lou Gehrig that keeps the spirits of Yankee fans’ high; even when we are down, we are never out. This belief motivates us to still stand in the seventh and sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” arm in arm with an unshaken assurance, even after giving up a five-run lead in the fifth. It inspires us to rise for and show respect to our captain Aaron Judge, even with his abysmal .196 batting average. It is pure Yankee idealism that motivates us to hold our heads high and reiterate the phrase “onto the next one,” coined by lifelong Yankee fan Jay Z, even after being stunned by Freddie Freeman’s walk-off homer in Game One or The Dodgers winning the series in our house, because the hope still remains that there is always next year.

          As a Yankee fan, I don’t know what we have in store for next season. Juan Soto might be leaving the praised city of New York and taking his talents elsewhere. Even so, I know Yankee fans around the world are proud of the run we went on this season despite not reaching the final goal of another championship ring. This team was one of a kind. Yankee fans around the world are thinking what we could have done better, but in reality, the powerful Dodgers squad was just too strong. This team will go down in history, not only as one of the best teams the Yankees have assembled, but also as one of the biggest disappointments in the history of New York sports, and that's more than okay.