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From: stevev@tekchips.UUCP (Steve Vegdahl)
Newsgroups: net.sport.baseball
Subject: Re: Trivia: Single digit Yankees (also rooting against teams)
Message-ID: <52@tekchips.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 7-Jun-85 12:40:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: tekchips.52
Posted: Fri Jun  7 12:40:08 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Jun-85 02:40:56 EDT
References: <77@milford.UUCP>
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 66

> I was watching the Yankees yesterday after not following them for
> a long time, and was surprised to see Dale Berra wearing number 2.
> Surprised, because I would have thought the Yanks would have retired
> or be about to retire single digit jerseys! I remember Mantle had
> number 7, Yogi 8, and Maris 9; Martin of course has number 1 claimed
> (did he have it as a player?); I somehow connect Babe Ruth with
> number 3 and Joe Dimaggio with 10.
> 
> Can anyone give the numbers for other prestigious Yankees -- or even
> better, come up with an all time single digit Yankee team?

	<<The following information is subject to error, as
	  I do not follow the Yankees closely, and it's off the
	  top of my head>>

Gehrig was 4, was he not?

I was not aware that Maris had had his jersey retired.  Wasn't 9 also
Nettles' number?

	<<The following information is subject to error only in that
	  it is a personal opinion, which may be (correctly?)
	  perceived by some to be totally off the wall>>

There was recently a posting to the effect it's OK for people to cheer
FOR teams but not AGAINST them.  There are a number of reasons for which
I believe that it is reasonable to root against team:

   1.  If I'm a Tiger fan, and the Tigers and Yanks are in a close
	pennant race, you had better believe I'm going to be rootin'
	against the Yanks.

   2.  If there exist fans/announcers/player who are abnoxious/snobby
	about a particular team, I will tend to cheer against that
	team.  Examples that come to mind are:
	  * The postings of Oklahoma fans preceding the 1985 Orange Bowl.
	  * The Dallas Cowboys, whose have a "snobby" mystique at least
		in my perception.
	  * The Yankees.  George Steinbrenner (sp?) makes it easy to root
		against them, not that I haven't always done so.
	  * Myron Cope, whose color announcing for the Steelers is
		extremely abnoxious.  In my opionated opinion he makes
		Howard look gentle.  I lived and listened to him in
		Pittsburgh for 7 years.  (You'd think I'd learn!).  Of
		course the fact that I came there as a Raider fan in the
		in the mid-70's probably did not help.

    3.  If there is a rivalry between two teams (e.g., due to having met
	often in the playoffs, as with Lakers-Celtics, Steelers-Raiders),
	especially if their has been "bad blood" between the teams (e.g.,
	Ainge, Rambis, Atkinson, Blount), you want to see the "bad guys"
	lose, even if they are not playing against your team.  Did anyone
	on the net cheer FOR the Russian basketball team after the 1972
	olympics.

    4.  I enjoy a game more if I have a strong "emotional stake" in the
	game.  If I have one "loved" team and one "hated" team in each
	league, I will "fully enjoy" about twice as many games than if
	I only cheered "for" teams.

Well, enough rambling for now.

		Steve Vegdahl
		Computer Research Lab.
		Tektronix, Inc.
		Beaverton, Oregon