Did you ever go to Yankee Stadium? I’ve been there dozens of times and always felt thrilled and celebratory when they won, especially in the years when Mariano Rivera was closing and Jorge Posada was catching. I even wore my Posada jersey when I knew he would be in the lineup.
There are 46,537 seats in the stadium, and it is always packed. But what fascinated me most was seeing the reaction of diehard fans as they exited the ballpark when the Yankees lost. Many had fire in their eyes, pure rage. Others took to expletives. Still others shook their heads in either disbelief or anger, many cursing the umpires for what they considered bad calls or even blaming the team’s owner, George Steinbrenner, for this or that decision they considered key to the loss.
Even when they knew that the Yankees would be playing a doubleheader the next night and might win both games, they couldn’t let go of their outrage.
But why did they care so much? I asked myself. What made the loss of a simple baseball game so emotionally charged, so devastating? Why did these fans spend so much time calling into radio shows and TV sports programs for days on end after the loss?
Because they were invested!
Philadelphia fans are the worst in the country. They are just like little kids.