I was in the New York Stadium bleachers watching my beloved Red Sox take on the disliked Yankees. As an innocent 10 year-old who had only seen baseball games in Fenway Park - at least 40 of them - I had no idea that there were people in the world like the Yankee fans I met that day. Fat, drunk Italians screamed at me as I cheered for Boston. They seemed to chant the same line all game. "1918!" (which is the last year the Red Sox won the World Series, something that even every casual Red Sox fan knows) When Ken Ryan began to warm up in the Sox bullpen, the fans threw trash, screamed obscenities, and spit at him. After the Red Sox lost, the fans all jeered at me and told me to get the hell out of their city. My dislike of the Yankees had turned into hatred.

This day was monumental. It was the day that I was initiated into the unofficial club of Yankee haters. All I needed was one experience, and I saw the light. Since I began to hate theYankees, my life has started to make sense. Through intensive research, I have also learned why the Yankees are so hated, and how they got to be so terrible.

So why do we hate the Yankees? I'll start with the basics. They are spoiled. Their owner is an ass. Their players think they are hot stuff. They whine and cry no matter how much they are paid. The fans are repulsive. The list can go on forever. These are my personal favorite reasons to hate the Yankees, and maybe after reading this, you will come up with your own favorites.

Mike Royko echoes the sentiments of millions of Americans with his quote, "Hating the Yankees is as American as pizza pie, unwed mothers and cheating on your income tax" (Mead cover). I will pass my hatred of the Yankees to my children along with the basic knowledge of the birds and the bees, respect of elders, and the basis of democracy. I will keep my children away from Yankee propaganda - which has captured the souls of many people who may have been decent human beings. Yankee fans try to capture the innocence of young Americans by saying that the Yankees are winners, that they are noble now, and have been noble throughout history. Ha! NBC, FOX, and most American newspapers lead the propaganda by hailing the Yankees every chance they get. Once a pure individual begins to believe this misinformation, their life goes downhill. The truth must prevail. Our children must be saved. The Yankees must be hated by all.

As a Boston Red Sox fan, it is even easier for me to realize why the Yankees are so bad. You see, to Red Sox fans, the Yankees represent all that is wrong with sports. They win by any and all means possible, and as a result, they mistreat money and players without caring. They are the exact opposite of the Boston organization. As the Yankees continue to win, the Red Sox continue to lose. "1918!" is a chant that echoed throughout Yankee Stadium that one tragic day in 1991 - and it hasn't stopped since. During the last 25 years alone, the Red Sox have only reiterated how they absolutely crush their fans. In 1976, they gave us hope in the World Series after Carlton Fisk's famous home run in game six, only to lose the series in game seven. In 1978, Bucky Dent - a Yankee - hit a home run in the eighth inning of a one game playoff to end Boston's season. In 1986, Boston was one routine ground ball away from winning the World Series before Bill Buckner made the error that ruined game six, and the Mets momentum carried them to victory in game seven. In 1999, the lovable hard-working Sox made it to the American League Championship Series where they lost in five games to the Yankees. This lack of change--The Yankees winning and the Red Sox constant losing-- has only made Boston fans stronger and New York fans weaker.

My personal relationship with the Red Sox is based on tragedy and disappointment and dashed expectations. The losing has grown on me. It is a part of me. I almost hope that the Red Sox don't win. Don't get me wrong, I want them to win more than anything, and every time they lose I am absolutely crushed. If they do win though, I will feel like a piece of me is missing. No hope that next year - finally - will be the year. My children won't go through the agony that I have gone through, and they won't be able to be true Red Sox fans. Because after all, a true Red Sox fan is a loser - and that is what makes us so perfect. We lose and we love them, we lose and we hate them, we lose and we believe, we lose and we are fans. Yankee fans tell us that we must be idiots to root for a losing team. They make fun of us for having such a tragic existence. They tell us to root for a real team like the Yankees. "We are World Champions," they say, "And you guys are nothing but second rate losers." If they only knew what it was like to actually be a fan. Only after going through years and years of losing can one actually be a real fan of a team. How difficult is it to root for a team that always wins? Only after witnessing your team remain a good organization with role models playing and benevolent owners managing them can you really be a fan.

A fan of New York? Nothing like a Red Sox fan. During my experience, I have found two different kinds of basic Yankee fans. One is a New York city resident, which makes up only about one-tenth of the fans. These are the loud obtrusive men who throw batteries at opposing players and sing along--if you can call it singing--to Sinatra's "New York, New York," 20 times after each win, one of the most disgusting traditions in all of sports. These fans aren't big on personal hygiene. They are also the easiest to get mad at because they are so visible, but at least they are true fans, which is partly respectable.

The other kind of Yankee fan is the typical fan, nine tenths of the fans. The kind of fan that my friends are, and the kind of fan that I hate. They - not only my friends, but the fans in general - are rich outsiders who love to win at all costs, like the team. They are cocky and smug. They say that sports are all about winning, so the Yankees must be the best team ever, and they must be the best fans ever. This shows how they are naive. Just because a team wins doesn't mean you should cheer for them. Anyway, the worst part about these fans is that when the Yankees win, they go to games and wear Yankee paraphernalia, but when the Yankees lose, they don't. These people are fair-weather fans. The opposite of Boston fans. Rick Reilly puts it perfectly in an article in Sports Illustrated, "Rooting for New York is like rooting for Brad Pitt to get the girl or for Bill Gates to hit Scratch 'n' Win." In the same article, Reilly also asks for a new law requiring a fan of the Yankees to be from one of the five boroughs, and if you aren't, you must find another team (156).

The history of New York Yankees baseball has been nothing for their fans to brag about. Yes, they have won 25 times in the 20'Th century. They are the best team of the century. But when you look at how they won, and what their players and owners were and are like, the winning doesn't matter. Propaganda has immortalized many of the Yankees and the Yankee teams through movies, stories, and books. However, there is truth behind these Yankee myths. The stories created about Yankee heroes are just that: created stories.

The first and most misunderstood Yankee myth is that they grow their own talent and have always intelligently used their money on free agents. Actually, New York always blatantly uses money to make themselves better, and they have so much money that they can afford to make bad front office decisions. Money, not the farm system, has been the major reason for their success.

There has been a revolving door of players going and coming from New York because of their money. As Sparky Anderson, one of the most respected baseball figures of all time, says, "I don't think of it [Yankee success] as a magic formula. I think of it as an easy formula. I don't see anything tough about picking up good players if you pay them enough" (Mead 45). Anderson goes on to compare the Yankee organization to a gambler. They have $1,000,000 to gamble with as opposed to $100,000 of other teams. As a result, they can afford to make bad decisions (Mead, 46).

The beginning of the Yankees spending spree came when Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast Huston bought the team in the mid-1910's (Mead 53-56). In 1920 they lured Babe Ruth, the Red Sox star player, to New York with $100,000. By 1923, 11 former Red Sox were on the Yankees--including star pitcher Carl Mayes. In the 1930's, the Yankees payroll was nearly double that of other teams. Lefty Gomez, Red Ruffing, Joe Dimaggio, Cedric Durst, Frank Corsetti, and Tommy Henrich were bought by the Yankees in the 1930's--a period of baseball where players usually played for the same team their entire career and teams never bought players.

During the modern baseball era, this Yankee tradition of buying players continued. Reggie Jackson was granted an outrageous five year, three million dollar contract in 1976. Soon after, Catfish Hunter was granted baseball's first million-dollar contract by the Yankees in 1977 (Schapp 25). In 1999, the Yankees paid $33 million for former Red Sox ace Roger Clemens.

If the Red Sox had the Yankees payroll, they would probably be World Champions right now. Clemens, Wade Boggs (who signed with New York because Boston didn't offer him enough), Ellis Burks, Mo Vaughn and other expensive players would still be on their team. Instead, big-market teams like New York raise the player's prices, and steal them from their original teams. As a result, the Yankees end up with the top players in the league, making it virtually impossible for other teams to consistently compete.

George Steinbrenner, the present day Yankee owner, has been accused by even Yankee fans like Kevin Galin of being mean, greedy, offensive, crooked, and arrogant (Galin). Because of this, Yankee fans say that he is an affront to the Yankees organization. This, too, is a myth. Steinbrenner's antics are similar to the actions of past owners and only continue the Yankee tradition.

The day after Steinbrenner bought the Yankees in 1973, he said, "I won't be involved in day to day operations of the club at all" (Mead 110). Since that day, he has only made every front office decision--such as hiring and firing Billy Martin eight times--ordered team practices, publicly criticized his and other teams players and performances, and has been widely accused by baseball experts of establishing himself as the most intrusive owner in sports today (Schapp 23).

Yankee players even hate Steinbrenner. As Dock Ellis, a former Yankee pitcher, stated so eloquently in 1978, "The more we lose, the more Steinbrenner will fly in. And the more he flies, the better chance there will be a plane crash" (Mead 105). Steinbrenner often accused players of not trying and playing below potential. This causes a lack of respect from the players back towards him. When Steinbrenner hires players, he acts like their best friend. But once a player got on the team, Steinbrenner loses all respect for him (Schapp 27).

The myth associated with Steinbrenner is that he is a worse owner than previous Yankee owners. The fact is, he is just following those previous owner's lead. In 1903, the year Frank Farrell founded the Yankees, he would sit behind the dugout and endlessly harass the players and managers (Mead 52). During Farrell's reign, managers were fired, crime was suspected by players, and there was tension, conflict and mistreatment of the team. The glorious seeds of Yankee tradition were laid.

Ruppert and Huston, the original Yankee owners, likewise second-guessed the players and managers and often went into the locker room after the game to yell at the players. In 1948, George Weiss took over as the Yankee General manager. Weiss didn't trust his players, and hired private detectives to follow them at night. He also hired and fired managers, players and even broadcasters like no other owner of his time. In 1956, Weiss decided that it was time to fire Phil Rizzuto, the beloved 38 year-old Yankee shortstop. So, Weiss went up to Rizzuto and told him that a player had to be cut, asking Rizzuto for suggestions. One by one, Rizzuto named players, and each time Weiss disagreed. Finally, Rizzuto got to himself. Weiss acknowledged the bad news, and dismissed Rizzuto in typical Yankee fashion (Mead 57). So the question of whether Steinbrenner is the only Yankee owner to be obnoxious and cruel is answered. He is not, and he can't be blamed for his insolence. Heck, Steinbrenner is only doing his rightful duty of mistreating players and money: a job description which was laid out in front of him by his predecessors.

Although it probably doesn't even need to be stated because their name is synonomous with benevolence, Tom Yawkey was the best owners ever. He was a "loyal, decent sportsman who had helped raise millions of dollars for the Jimy Fund to help cure muscular dystrophy" (Golenbach, 384). He has been accused of being too nice to players. He felt like the Red Sox were his family, and he did everything possible for them Golenbach, 385). Does this sound familiar? It sounds just like the next owner, Tom's wife, Jean Yawkey who was equally kind to the team. It also sounds like Red Sox fans. Fans who honestly believe that the Red Sox players and fans are their best friends. We are a family. And does this sound like the opposite of another organization? It isn't too difficult for me to come up with the Yankees, whose owners are the anti-Yawkeys.

Now that it has been firmly established that the myths about the "good" Yankee organization are untrue, we have to ask ourselves about the players. With "hero's" such as Babe Ruth, Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Reggie Jackson, how could a true sports fan not love the Yankees? The answer is easy. True sports fans look beyond the manufactured surface of these players and understand that there is truth behind their myths. Babe Ruth made double the money of any other player during his era. To smite other players, he literally waved his checkbook at opposing dugouts. He was an alcoholic, a gambler, and a womanizer who didn't care about his teammates, friends, wife or family. One of the scenes that immortalized Babe, his "called shot"--which according to Yankee fans was a moment that he pointed into the stands saying that he was going to hit a home run-- was not intended. Actually, Ruth was pointing at the opposing pitcher yelling, "I am going to hit this down your throat!" Once the truth is known, American's learn that the "called shot" is merely one of the many stories made up by Yankee fans to make their players seem better than they are.

The most highly regarded Yankee ever is the "Immortal Yankee Clipper," Joe Dimaggio. Dimaggio was a quiet secretive character who kept to himself. As a result, not much is known about him, so an absurd belief that he was pleasant and humble was developed. What a joke! In 1938, Dimaggio held out until he made $40,000 to surpass teammate Lou Gehrig as the highest paid player in baseball. He had no friends on the team, and was disliked because he was so self-centered (Mead 43).

Dimaggio was married to movie stars Dorothy Arnold and then Marilyn Monroe--which is seen by Yankee fans as a sign of his greatness. Both wives said that he never talked to them, and all he wanted to do was watch television. Both marriages ended in quick divorces. Right before his divorce to Monroe, Dimaggio showed his class and modesty by saying about her, "She's just a plain kid. She'd give up the business if I asked her. She'd quit the movies in a second" (Mead 106).

Mickey Mantle, another alcoholic Yankee, has been praised for heroically playing through severe leg pain (Mead 43). Actually, Mantle denied advice to cure his leg problems by refusing to participate in off-season exercise. Instead, he would drink and play golf all day.

Reggie Jackson could very well be the most arrogant athlete in sports history. He put down his teammates and talked to reporters about how he was the best player in the game. Reggie was involved in the 1977 Yankee team--possibly the most embarrassing team in sports history. Jackson and Don Gullet were signed to the richest contracts in baseball history. Reggie and Thurmon Munson bickered all season about money, and their importance to the team (Jacobson 6). Reggie stated his importance to the team in a Sport Magazine article in 1977, "You know, this team...it all flows from me. I've got to keep it going. I'm the straw that stirs the drink...Munson thinks he can be the straw that stirs the drink, but he can only stir it bad" (Mead 105). This began an outrage from the rest of the team, and nearly every player demanded a trade. However, the players never stated their names when demanding these trades, rather, they talked to the press using anonymous quotes (Jacobson 2). The entire team was miserable, and nearly all of them wanted out of New York. In the dugout, players argued about money and gossiped about other teammates, not baseball (Jacobson 7). Reggie even refused to shake his teammates hands after games. Every day, the nation would check the newspapers to see what the new Yankee prolem was still, this team of overpaid bickering players won the World Series--which is a complete travesty.

So were the Yankee players "American hero's?" Only if Americans idolize obnoxious, drunk, and arrogant assholes. Well, some American's do idolize this type of person. They are called New York fans.

When I think back upon that day in Yankee Stadium in 1991, there is a glaring difference to games that I see at the Stadium in 1999. Even against their rival Boston, the Yankees couldn't even fill three quarters of their stadium with fans. Today though, most of their games are nearly sold out. Yankee fans nearly disappeared in the early 1990's, but today, they seem to be everywhere. Why is this? Because Yankee fans--not the dirty city fans, but the outsider fans--are bandwagon fans. When the Yankees win, they show up at the Stadium and wear their Yankee gear, but when The Yankees lose, they don't. For some ludicrous reason, Yankee fans have convinced most of America that they have been dedicated to the team through the good and the bad times. This is completely untrue, and attendance statistics can prove it.

According to statistics found on the Red Sox message board - actally these were posted by a Yankee fan, so the information is legitimate, in 1991 and 1992, down years for the team, the Yankees didn't even reach the two million fan mark (BJG). However, once they began to get better in the mid to late 1990's, fans amazingly began to show up at games. Finally, in 1999, they hit the three million fan mark (BJG), and made a huge ordeal about it. This is in a stadium that fits 55,000 people. So when the Yankees were slumping, they weren't even filling half of the Stadium. Pretty amazing for a team that only eight years later boasts of huge attendance numbers. In 1999, fans across New York, New Jersey and Western Connecticut claim to be Yankee fans--and they go to the Yankee games. Where were they earlier in the decade? According to Yankee fans, a resurgence in the popularity of baseball has accounted for this rise in attendance at the Stadium (Galin). Comparing the Yankee attendance to Fenway's statistics however provides an answer to this false claim. Consistently since 1990, Boston has seated around 2,400,000 fans in Fenway per year (BJG). This is in a stadium with around a 33,000 seat capacity. Whether Boston plays poorly or competitively, the fans still come. Thus proving that they are loyal--unlike fans of New York.

Once the Yankee's fans, players and organization are carefully examined, the truth is painfully obvious. They are undoubtedly the most repulsive organization in baseball. For an entire century the Yankees have given us reason after reason to hate them, yet some people still cheer for them. Unfortunately, there will always be Yankee fans, and those fans will have children. It is the duty of decent Americans to do the job that those parents can't: educate the children on the truth about the Yankees. Come next baseball season, I will still be fighting the hotheaded bandwagon Yankee fans who revel in the 25 World Series rings that they won in the 20th Century. I can see beyond the surface, and so can you. It is a simple matter of education. Join me in the unofficial club of Yankee haters as the 21st Century begins! -Michael Oleyer