Your triumph brings me great joy.
Fans say, "Johan who?"
When I began covering baseball full-time in 1997, the Yankees had never hit the three-million mark for their home attendance. April games in both the Bronx and Flushing presented excellent opportunities to study for finals. Regional sports networks didn't exist.
The Knicks filled Madison Square Garden with an annual championship contender, Bill Parcells was working his magic with the Jets and the Giants offered buzz with their new head coach, an offensive wunderkind named Jim Fassel.
From then until now, New York turned into Baseball City, as Neil Best likes to put it. It's been a great thing, but to be fully honest _ and please, don't think of this as a complaint - I'm just attempting to level with you _ it can be exhausting to cover a sport that never experiences any down time.
Enter the Giants, who became a legitimate, "flood-the-zone" (scroll down) story once they upended the Cowboys last week. And now that they are in the Super Bowl, it'll be all Giants, all the time, as well it should be.
So we here at Newsday will be covering the pertinent baseball stories, from the Johan Santana trade discussions (or lack thereof) to Roger Clemens' throwdown with Brian McNamee. Yet we'll understand if people don't follow the stories to the level which we've been accustomed.
In the meantime, I'm going to take a few days off this week (previously scheduled, back when the Giants stunk). See you here on Thursday. Although, in the self-promoting tradition of Mr. Best, you can see me tonight (Monday, Jan. 21) on "Mets Hot Stove," 6:30 on SNY.
I feared you would miss, again.
Now I owe you one.
Comments (6)
Three hundred pound men
Congress does not seem to care
Are steroids the cause?
There's a sport called football? Never heard of it and don't care about it one bit. When do pitchers and catchers report? Ken, baseball is on a high in New York and you are one of the best parts of it. Thanks for the effort, above and beyond most columnists/reporters. We don't always agree, but I know you always work hard to get your facts right. I'll try to get your attention Sunday night to say hello.
By the way, can you pin down the date of Jack Lang Day at Shea? I have heard it's in April or May, but haven't been able to get an actual date yet.
ken,
this may be your best post ever
Jim, Jack Lang Day is April 26th. And thanks, Anthony!
Hey Ken.
Nice job on SNY last night. Who laid out the sporting equipment in front of the desk? I agree with you: we need Santana.
~Howard
Sporting News- The scoop on New York Sports fans
[quote]
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/smitty324/131636
Several weeks ago Eli Manning was the worst of the worst, a bum of epic proportion. A bum among bums, what a difference a month makes. Welcome to the world of a New York sports fan. Talk radio, TV, newspapers are of course singing the praises of big blue. Our team, our town, we did it, etc. This will last for the next couple of weeks up until the final whistle of Superbowl XLII. Should the Giants come up on the wrong side of the score New York fans will revert back to their true colors which are never the same from day to day. Here is a tongue n cheek take on NY sports fans from a NY sports fan.
Yankees fans are very smart, extremely loyal, critical and spoiled, true blue to no end. On the flip side you have your September to October crowd the ones who always seem to show up as the champagne bottles arrive to the stadium.
Knicks fans- Loyal and extremely frustrated, die hard and somewhat delusional . Then you have the celebrity crowd, the ones who fill the seats courtside to be seen by the paparazzi . The Jay Z’s, Beyounce’s, your basic I’m trying to sell an album or promote a movie crowd.
Jets Fans – Blue Collar to the bone. Jealous of the Giants and Patriots. We are a wishful bunch of folks. Very hopeful and extremely optimistic until December arrives, then panic sets in. The true meaning of an identity crisis, Jets Fans.
Mets Fans – Read above and substitute Giants for Yankees. Mets fans are cocky for no good reason. Every 7 or 8 years they catch lightning in a bottle, but for the most part they are all talk, and no results.
Nets Fans – They are really Knicks fans in disguise but they proclaim some sort of oddball allegiance to a franchise that plays to empty audiences on a regular. Nets fans just need a hug.
Rangers Fans – True blue to no end and eternally optimistic even though both the Devils and Islanders have had more success in their history.
Islanders Fans – A happy group of fans living off of its 80’s success. Sort of like Green Bay Packers fans sans the groupie activity.
Devils – Very local, low-key, small community type of fan base. Almost like the local bingo game[/quote].
Then there are Red Sox fans. The vast majority are white, redfaced, drunk, douchey, tooled out, and have aggression problems.