A Red Sox Fan’s Life of Yankees Hatred

Red Sox vs Yankees starts Thursday Night

I consider myself a people person. I love meeting new people from different places. I love meeting locals when I’m on vacation. I see an away jersey at a game at Fenway, I love it, I want to talk to them and ask them how their Fenway experience is going. My favorite band is the Grateful Dead…you see what I’m getting at? I’m a lover, I don’t have room for hate in my heart, because 100% of my hate is already being used to hate the New York Yankees.

If you are a Boston sports fan, you know there’s a lot of rivalries throughout the city, but nothing compares to the feeling that a big Red Sox vs Yankees series brings out of the city. Walking into the park has a different vibe on a Yankees game night, seeing Yankees jerseys on the way to your seats, by the time you sit down you can’t wait to yell out your first “Yankees Suck!”

I was very blessed growing up, having a father that worked at Fenway Park helping to run the food service throughout the park, I grew up going to the park. I got to go on the field, I got to meet players, I got to go to endless games and have a lifetime of memories by the time I was 10. Two things happen from an upbringing like that…

1. You gain a love for hot dogs that will last a lifetime

2. Hating the Yankees is in your blood

One story that comes to mind that may or may not have molded me this way. I have two older brothers. My brother Derek must have been no older than 12 years old. He came home from a sleepover with his friends and was donning a Yankee hat on his head and a big smile on his face. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, because the word was not in the lexicon yet in 2001, but he was ‘trolling’ my dad. My dad’s reaction was exactly how some of us would love to react to trolls, excessively. My father, a Fenway Park employee for almost twenty years, was stopped dead in his tracks when he came across what was on my brother’s head. So, he did exactly what he should’ve done, he smacked it off his head and told him “Don’t ever disrespect me like that again”. My brother looked to my other brother and I for support, maybe a “it’s just a hat”. But hell no, he wasn’t getting any of that from us. All he got what was a confused look along with “what were you thinking?”

I was also in the seats at Fenway for one of, if not the most, famous Red Sox vs Yankees brawl. ALCS 2003 game 3, Roger Clemens almost took the head off of Manny Ramirez throwing a fastball that had to be over 100 MPH inches away from Manny’s head. At least that’s how I remember it, and will 100% be telling my kids that’s how it went. Well, if you can recall, that brawl will always be remembered by Yankees bench coach a 70-something year old Don Zimmer came charging at Pedro Martinez head down and fist cocked. Pedro not wanting to hurt the old man calmly helped Zimmer down to the ground as softly as he can and may have even slipped a pillow under his head as he hit the ground. Again, that’s how my memory recalls it. 🤷‍♂️. The buzz in the park for that game was like nothing I have yet to experience again. There was a fight in the crowd next to us, I remember security running in and just ripping out the Yankee fan no questions asked. There was even a fight in the Yankee bullpen between a Fenway security guard and a Yankee reliver/bum Jeff Nelson! Fun fact, that security guard still works there! Shoutout Tall Paul! Electric day! I walked out of the park that day with a hatred for the New York Yankees like a flame that burns deeper than Stone Cold’s hate for Vince McMahon, and it’s never been out out!

I could go on and on about different stories and reasons that fueled my hatred for the Yankees over the years. I am sure every member of Sox nation all has their own personal stories that molded them that way. Although as much as we hate them, I think we could also all agree you wouldn’t want to see the Red Sox play any other team. Any time we get a Red Sox vs Yankees series the vibes are high. But when we can get a series that might actually have a big impact on the playoff picture like we do starting tonight, nothing is better!

So that brings us to tonight, the Red Sox are in New York for a four-game series with the Yankees who are outplaying the Red Sox the last two weeks. The Yankees have a 1.5 game lead on the Red Sox to start the series and with a four-game set could really put a big gap in-between us, or the Red Sox can close this gap! It is a huge series! The Red Sox need to go into the Bronx ready to step up and turn this month around, use that Mickey Mouse park to your advantage and get hot at the plate! Both teams have been up and down the standings, but with only one series remaining with NYY after this weekend, one of these teams could be feeling good about where they sit come Monday.

I predict the Red Sox to take 3 out of 4 at the little league field they call Yankee Stadium and walk out of there with a .5 lead over the Yankees in the wild card race. The rest of the season is going to be a nail bitter and come down to the wire, but as long as the Sox can keep taking care of the Yankees they will be in a good spot. Go Sox and Yankees Suck!!