Heart of Darkness of a Yankee Fan

8/21/2012

It is always instructive to get a glimpse of the inner core of Yankee fans.

The other day I was walking down a pleasant street in the Berkshires with my wife and four friends.

Puffy clouds played in the clear New England sunshine above the soft green hills.

Most of us were fixated on lunch, some on art or window displays. My new friend Joe from Queens was otherwise preoccupied. Great career, family man, terrific shape, funny. And a Yankee fan.

“Ha!” he gloated. “Look at this! Not a Red Sox cap in sight. For years that’s all you saw in this town. Red Sox caps. Red Sox banners. Red Sox t-shirts. Red Sox bumper stickers. Red Sox tattoos. Red Sox flags. Red Sox schedules in the windows. Red Sox art. Red Sox names for sandwiches. Guess they’re not so cocky now. How’s that Bobby V thing going for them? How are Beckett and Lester doing? Where is Papelbon? What ever happened to Red Sox Nation? Ha!”

That is how I remember his spontaneous monologue.

(I told my new pal I might try to reconstruct his diatribe, and he said, not to worry, that no matter how I remembered it, he probably said worse. Or would have, if he had thought of it. Joe from Queens was thoroughly delighted at the downswing of Ye Olde Towne Team.)

I did not see any Yankee regalia in the Berkshire streets. The only ball cap I saw was from the University of California. Go figure. The entire Red Sox nation had vanished as the Sox plummeted downward in the Eastern Division.

That night my new pal excused himself after dinner and disappeared to his room. Yankee radio and Yankee television were apparently jammed in that corner of New England, but he was following the Yankees on the computer.

The next day he supplied details of derring-do by Kuroda and Swisher, Jeter and Chavez, or some such combination. Yankee heroics, Red Sox disaster. The mixture made him downright giddy

Alan Rubin link

8/21/2012 11:00:02 am

George

I’ll take a guess that you were either in Lenox or Stockbridge, both delightful but too crowded on summer weekends. I cannot imagine why anyone would sneak off to watch a baseball game, Yankee or not, when there is so much to do in the Berkshires during the summer.

We live here fulltime having retired from Manhattan seven years ago. Despite the influx of summer tourists, we never leave on vacations between May and September because of beauty of the Berkshires and the almost unlimited cultural activities. Still, there are not enough days in the week to see all that we would like to.

Jacob’s Pillow for dance, Tanglewood for music, Shakespeare and Company, Barrington Stage, the Colonial and Berkshire Theater Group, and the Williamstown Theater Festival are the major venues, but there are also many interesting smaller ones.

You and your friends must have caught an off day with the Red Sox logos as they are everywhere including hats, shirts, car decals, bumper stickers, an information white board behind the counter of my local lumber yard that updates all Boston sports, a mini-billboard advertising “Red Sox Nation” on the lawn of the offices of a leading Pittsfield attorney, women’s earrings and necklaces, etc. Surprisingly, but to a much lesser and saner degree, Yankee logos are also evident.

The taverns and sports bars are also partial to the Red Sox, but soccer has made significant inroads. On several occasions, I was surprised when patrons asked that the channel be changed from the Red Sox to a soccer game.

The Red Sox presence is still strong in the Berkshires, just more muted for now!!

Brian Savin

8/21/2012 02:47:51 pm

What town you at, Alan? I'm two down from the Mass/CT border. Mass merchants supply us with tires (Sewards), Propane (Carlson), cheese (Rubiners), and gin (the place by the bridge in Great Barrington. The Red Lion is is a favorite lunch stop when getting our latest window treatments at Yankee (not Red Sox) Curtains. Should be be angry at GV for not calling?

George Vecsey

8/22/2012 08:24:59 am

Rubiner's. We ate outside with the smokers and the construction. But a lovely BLT.
Guys, thanks, I was having fun staying with friends and then visiting family. What a lovely part of the world. I am planning a riff on discovering summer vacations. Cheers. GV

Alan Rubin link

8/22/2012 09:43:06 am

Brian

We are in Hinsdale on Ashmere Lake, which is between Dalton and Peru and 10 miles east of Pittsfield. We are right off of Rt. 143 which is called the General Lafayette Highway. It is believed to be the route that General Knox used to move the captured British cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to the Battle of Bunker Hill.

You are probably in the Canaan area if you do your shopping in Great Barrington. Rubiner’s is great for more than its cheese’s, but George is right about the cigarette smoke. Domaneys Discount Liquors is much more than a great store. They give very generously to the community and often participate in wine tasting dinners with several area restaurants.

Since Great Barrington is about an hour away, we normally purchase our wine from Nejaime’s in Lenox, who also assists in wine tasting dinners. They also have a fantastic collection of cheeses.

How can someone get mad at George for taking an unannounced vacation? I would have recommended two good restaurants, Alta Restaurant and Wine Bar on Church Street in Lenox and Chez Nous on Main Street in Lee. My wife and I are very friendly with both owners and they would have made George and his party very welcome. Both owners are French and extremely committed to excellent service. The restaurants also have wine tasting dinners between September and May, which helps them during the winter. Let me know if you would like more information as you are probably not too far away. These dinners are better than the regular ones as they are cooking the same meal for everyone.

George-you would have enjoyed meeting Alta’s owner Aurelian. He is from the Alps of France and is an avid soccer fan. He is aware of your site as is one of my friends who periodically critique’s my soccer web site. Maybe you can meet up with him another time.

Actually, autumn is the best time to visit the Berkshires.

Altenir Silva

8/23/2012 04:56:22 am

Hi, my friend.

What your friend felt about No-Red Sox caps, this is happening the same in Rio de Janeiro. We don’t see more shirts of our soccer clubs, there are, but few. Now walking in the beach of Copacabana, we see more shirts from Europeans’ clubs like Barcelona, Manchester, Real Madrid, Inter of Milan, Bayer and others. I think this is a result of technology (easy to see the games) and globalization.

Moreover, Brazil is very sad with the selection Brazilian. I think because the Coach not is much popular for here.

The curious thing is about NFL. You find an amount of shirts and caps of Giants, Jets, Patriots, Dallas Cowboy and others.

And, of course, there are many Yankees caps. Red Sox also has, few, but has.

All the best - Altenir Silva (from Brazil).

George Vecsey

8/23/2012 07:20:54 am

Altenir: thanks so much. You should have seen the Real and Milan jerseys in our metro two weeks ago. You are absolutely right, modern communications have brought "foreign" sports like football to America and Yankees to Brazil. The world is smaller. I think one of the guys who finished off Qaddafri was wearing a Yankee cap. I make no comment. Ciao, GV

Altenir Silva

8/24/2012 09:54:14 am

Hi George,

The Yankee cap is becoming a brand as famous as Coca-Cola.

Thanks!

All the best for you and your family!

Altenir Silva (from Brazil)

Ed Martin

8/23/2012 03:17:21 pm

Hi, this is from Ed Martin the Tampa Bay Rays fan, you remember me, perhaps disguised as a Mets fan. Actually, here in L'Estrie, it is hockey season all year, and the concern is with the Habs. Nice to think of you living the good life on vacation. Ciao.

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QUOTES
“I don’t think people understand how Covid affects older Americans,” Mr. Caretti said with frustration. “In 2020, there was this all-in-this-together vibe, and it’s been annihilated. People just need to care about other people, man. That’s my soapbox.”
---Vic Caretti, 47, whose father recently died of Covid at 85.
---From an article by Paula Span, who covers old age for the NYT, which currently has 2646 comments, the majority criticizing the American public – and public officials – for acting as if the pandemic is “over.”
Classic wishful thinking, at a lethal level.
Please see:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/11/health/covid-pandemic-seniors.html

Heart of Darkness of a Yankee Fan

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