Quick Addendum to My Stadium Rant

Phil Soto-Ortiz (he's the one in the Rangers sweater)

My friend Phil Soto-Ortiz coincidentally wrote about the ESPN/Yankee Stadium topic that I tackled last night.  I would have initially linked to it had I seen it.  Phil's take puts the onus on Yankees fans for, essentially, lacking the passion that they (we) once had.

His thoughts are well-reasoned and it's a solid read as always.  That, of course, doesn't mean I have to agree with him!

I still think the Stadium was plenty loud right up until Brandon Steiner drove the wrecking ball in with dollar signs on it.  But that being said, winning breeds contempt, and it is easy for fans to become complacent.  There's no doubt that some of that happened.  He also makes New York "Metsland" in the 80's (an opinion that others, including Tim McCarver, has).  I don't think it was that cut and dried.  There were, at times, two really good teams in the 80's, and it isn't that easy to just say that attendance was the reason.  This was a two-team town (the Bombers were hardly irrelevant, as I pointed out).

One last thing - the 80's into the early 90's was George Steinbrenner at his worst.  Fans got sick of that act.  But, ultimately, the "safety" issues around the Stadium were a big reason for the empty seats.  I never bought into that.  It never stopped me from going.

Anyway, Phil's stuff is worth reading, and makes for a nice counterpoint to my rant.