I'm a born and raised New Yorker, and I love the Yankees.
That's why what I say may shock you.
This year, I want the Red Sox to win.
Historically speaking, the Red Sox deserve victory. Unlike the other epically drought-stricken city, Chicago (home of the inept Cubs and White Sox), Boston has usually fielded a competitive team, and often a great one. But poor Boston has been horrendously unlucky.
Their 1975 and 1986 World Series appearances were in opposition to the two greatest National League teams of the past 50 years, both winners of 108 regular season games. In the 1967 Series, St. Louis' Bob Gibson enjoyed one of the great all-time World Series, pitching three complete game victories with a 1.00 ERA. Playing against these brutal opponents, the Red Sox extended each Series to seven games, deprived of victory by the fickle luck of a deciding game.
Was it fair that the budding Hall of Fame career of Tony Conigliaro was destroyed by a beanball to the face? Was it fair that Ted Williams, an ace fighter pilot, lost years of his prime to not one war, but two? Haven't the Red Sox suffered enough?
If history hasn't persuaded you, let the present-day franchise close the case.
The Red Sox could sell out Fenway Park with a lousy lineup of inexpensive players; instead, management spends millions in payroll trying to give their fans a much-deserved championship. Rather than raze antiquated Fenway Park, the present ownership is restoring and expanding this national treasure.
Today's players deserve to win. Pedro Martinez, for all his "diva" antics, has been the most dominant pitcher since Sandy Koufax. Curt Schilling is indisputably one of the most charismatic and good-hearted players in baseball. Johnny Damon grew Jesus hair. The Red Sox first-baseman is nicknamed "Cookie Monster." The Yankees first-baseman is nicknamed "BALCO." Who do you root for?
Lastly, as a New Yorker, I know how sweet long-awaited victory can be. In 1955, the Brooklyn Dodgers finally triumphed over the Yankees after a 50-year drought and five Word Series losses to the Yankees in the prior 14 years. My mother, eight years old and living in Brooklyn, remembers the moment of victory to this day, and put her son to sleep with stories of the legendary, victorious Brooklyn Dodgers.
In 1994, the NHL's New York Rangers broke a 54-year drought and captured the Stanley Cup. Grown men cried in the stands.
Imagine the day the Red Sox win. Church bells ringing all over New England. Crowds celebrating in the streets of Boston. Fireworks exploding over Back Bay.
Isn't it time?
