The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The Curse of the Bambino

As Oakland and Boston slugged it out in the division series, many Yankee fans found themselves dumbfounded. Not only were they rooting for a team that despised them, they were actually hoping that Boston would be able to overcome their two game deficit. The Sox were able to turn the series around and provide Red Sox fans, as well as Yankee fans, with an exciting last game to move onto the ALCS. However, the question remains, how did this series bring together fans that seemed so polar you couldn’t bring them together if you stranded them on a desert island together?

It seems that the concept of a Sox/Yankees division championship was something all baseball fans have looked forward to since the last time it happened in 1999, which by the way, the Yankees won. It is well known that the Boston/New York rivalry stems all the way back to the days of “The Babe.” Remember? That was around the same time Boston was able to win a World Series. Actually, you probably don’t remember because there isn’t a person alive that would.

The “Curse of the Bambino” as it has come to be known is the phrase every Boston fan loathes. When a debate between a Yankee fan and Boston fan erupts– like that ever happens– it always comes down to this one man, the “Sultan of Swat.” However, it seems that the curse has become misconstrued, perhaps it would be wise to clarify.

In 1918 the Boston Red Sox won their fifth World Series, thanks in great part to the pitching and hitting of an orphan boy from the slums of Baltimore named George Herman Ruth. Following the 1919 season Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000 cash and a $300,000 mortgage on Fenway Park.

The rest is history, the Yankees went on to dominate baseball and have won 26 World Series since this haunting managerial decision. While Red Sox fans have endured over 80 years of what they refer to as a “team reconstruction period.” The problem is it has led to a rivalry so one sided it is painful to discuss anymore.

The great home run slugger symbolizes the curse itself, but the real curse is the impact it has had on the Boston fans and players themselves. The curse has turned BoSox fans into spiteful, whiny babies.

For example, how many Yankee fans jump out of the stands and begin assaulting an opposing team pitcher? How many Yankee fans walk around campus with a tee shirt that reads, “Boston Sucks?” I rest my case.

That is beside the point, but how about the claim made by 90% of Boston fans that the Yankees only win because they “buy” all their players. This pitiful argument is easily recanted by the simple knowledge that a winning team draws in money, something Boston fans have yet to grasp. By the way, how much do Nomar, Ramirez, and Pedro make these days? Perhaps the problem lies not in the amount of high paid players, but the spirit of the team itself. I just propose the question to Boston fans, if you actually were a winning ball club, wouldn’t your team be composed of the same type of high paid players?

On a side note, the spiteful attitude many Boston fans adhere to also seems make the Red Sox players forget about a little something known as sportsmanship. For example, Pedro Martinez seems to enjoy aiming at batter’s temples while also tossing old man onto the ground. Last time I checked, it wasn’t that hard to move out of the way of a charging 72 year old man. Who by the way, for all you Red Sox fans trying to defend Pedro, had been hit in the head by a ball in his minor league baseball days and was knocked unconscious for two weeks, and could not speak for another six. Personally, suffering through such an experience and then witnessing a grossly negligent player point to his head after almost taking out a hitter, would enrage just about anyone, but that’s just my opinion.

This rabble could continue for ten pages, but sadly, must come to an end. Basically, the “Curse of the Bambino” no longer pertains only to the trade of a baseball legend, but encompasses so much more than that. As the Yankees continue to rack up World Series wins, the curse has taken a new form. It now is a symbol of the frustration felt by all Bostonians, which transforms them into jealous, spiteful, and above all sore losers.

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The Curse of the Bambino