Tuesday 27 August 2013

Tribal loyalty: Yankees or Red Sox?

On Sunday week, I hope to be at Yankee Stadium, watching the New York Yankees playing the Boston Red Sox.

I have to decide whether I want to be an impartial observer, or get involved and choose a team to support. Supporting a team can be inspired by:

  1. tribal loyalty. This is a problem, because I am not an American. I have Irish roots, but so do both the New York and Boston teams.
  2. "fair weather friend". If I want to support a winner, it seems that on the Major League Baseball Eastern standings, of the East of the American League Boston is on top and NY is second from the bottom.
  3. "cheer the underdog": the Yankees would be my team.
  4. support a particular player: I don't know any of them.
I might have to leave it to the day to decide who I support. Whatever happens, I'm looking forward to it.

(On other matters of religion, I had been planning to go to Mass in the morning at St Patrick's Cathedral, but I have been advised that it would be better to go to St Ignatius on Manhatten)
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3 comments:

  1. Tonia Marshall9:52 pm, August 27, 2013

    When in doubt, support the home team!

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    Replies
    1. Paul10:04 pm, August 27, 2013

      But strictly speaking, I have been kindly invited to stay in Albany, the capital of NY state. I think NY city and Boston are about the same distance from Albany.
      Having said that, my preconceived idea of NY citizens is that they are a little crazy, so I think I will like them. Go the Yankees!!!

      Delete
  2. Anonymous9:54 am, August 28, 2013

    Sport is more enjoyable when you are not an impartial observer. Pick whichever team in your opinion has the most attractive colours or logo. Maybe there is someone with your surname in one of the teams, or maybe a family surname. Maybe someone in the team blesses himself every time he gets a home run, like Haydos did upon scoring a century in the cricket. regards Chris.

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