Judas Giuliani or the Yankee Flipper*

Well, now I have serious doubts about Rudy Giuliani. How anyone can trust him with grand issues of our time when he can't even get simple baseball fan guidelines right? We've all heard about Hillary's "I've always been a Yankee fan" nonsense. It's frequently repeated because it tells us something deeper about her character. How you conduct yourself as a sports fan tells us plenty about you. We all know Giuliani wants to be our daddy. Now this tells us that Giuliani is also clueless or a depraved panderer -- or worse: not a real Yankees fan.

"I'm rooting for the Red Sox," Giuliani, owner of four Yankee World Series rings, declared during a campaign event in a Boston restaurant, prompting thunderous applause.

"I'm an American League fan, and I go with the American League team - maybe with exception of the Mets," he said. "Maybe that would be the one time I wouldn't, because I'm loyal to New York."

Ugh. Not a real Yankees fan. There are many rules to being a true sports fan for any club, as Bill Simmons points out here. Now, Simmons doesn't even take the time to mention that a Yankees fan never ever ever roots for the Red Sox (or vice versa) because there is nothing more obvious on God's green earth.

(Incidentally, Giuliani's "loyal" to New York Mets twaddle, as most New Yorkers know, is also completely idiotic: Simmons rule # 20: If you hail from New York, you can't root for the Yankees and the Mets. You have to choose between them. Repeat: You have to choose between them. Don't give me this "As long as one of them is doing well, at least New York is winning" spiels. What is this, the sports fan's version of bisexuality? How about making a choice? Any New Yorker who said the words "It's the Yankees versus the Mets ... I can't lose!" during the 2000 World Series deserves to be tortured with a cattle prod.")

Here is a true Yankees fan, just so we get this thing straight: "Any Yankee worth his salt cannot root for the Red Sox under any circumstance at all. Period. End of story," said Ken Schlesinger, 44, a lawyer from the Upper East Side.

End of story.

*Headlines stolen from the always irascible New York Post.

Comments

[desertdweller]

When the Red Sox lose the series, it won't be the curse of the Bambino, or the Sox' fans sadistic abuse of Bill Buckner and his family, it will be the CURSE OF RUDY. Mark my words. Besides, the Rockies have god on their side.

[desertdweller]

When the Red Sox lose the series, it won't be the curse of the Bambino, or the Sox' fans sadistic abuse of Bill Buckner and his family, it will be the CURSE OF RUDY. Mark my words. Besides, the Rockies have god on their side.

[desertdweller]

This means, of course, that Rude Rudy will never again be able to show his face in Yankee Stadium. The booing will be heard throughout the tri-state area. Talk about a Bronx Cheeer!

[Parducci]

I abide by a similar rule: never root for any New York team in any sport at any time. Period. End of story.

[coolmaiden]

I said this in an earlier post, when dear mayor was soundly booed at a playoff game. He is from Brooklyn! He should have grown up cheering Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, and Duke Snider. But, knowing Rudy, he probably cheered for the Yankees as a weasly little kid because they won all the time.

[3fingerbrown]

I'm a Mets fan, but even I know that if the Red Sox were playing the Nazis, a real Yankee fan would show up at Fenway in a swastika windbreaker.
This is, of course, a frivolous story, but it does point up Rudy's foot-in-mouth problem. I'm sure his handlers are holding their breath, hoping that he won't make a similar tin-earred gaffe on a matter of more importance. But I think he will. His years as mayor suggest that if you rattle his cage just right, you can get him to say something inappropriate.
Page-one of today's NY Daily News: Rudy, wearing a Photoshopped Red Sox cap and jacket, and the headline TRAITOR!

[SamanthaJaneSalem]

Giuliani's comments just convince me even more of this: sports and politics don't mix.

Like the Boston U. law professor on Huffington Post telling us to root for the Red Sox because they are the "blue state" team.

Or people hating the Yankees because their owner is a greedy fat cat Republican.

Or Curt Schilling telling us to vote for Bush.

If I mixed politics and sports, I would root against the Colorado Rockies who-- as the always insightful Dave Zirin of The Nation has written-- have made themselves the Christian Conservative Team (though downplaying it now that they are actually winning and not just showing they have "character.")

Go Rockies.

[BlackJAC]

Weell, the Sox ARE a blue-state team by virtue of location! It's one of the few things Democrats and the handful of remaining Republicans here can agree upon! :)
Seriously, though, Keith Olbermann did chastise a bunch of Seahawks fans over basing fandom on political affiliation because you'd end up hating half the team. I wasn't thrilled that Curt was a Bush supporter, but I was willing to overlook it because it was due to his upbringing. Also, he's on record regretting the choice and says he actually likes living here.

[SamanthaJaneSalem]

I don't see why Boston hates Johnny Damon-- his grand slam in '04 was the final nail in the coffin for NYY, he's a nice guy, and everybody knows the front office wanted Coco Crisp instead of Damon and wouldn't even negotiate with him.

After all Damon did for The Idiots you should forgive him. Sign at Fenway: "Looked like Jesus, acts like Judas, throws like Mary." And J.D. Drew is "Nancy Drew"? Is that blue state behavior?

[NABNYC]

The way I see it, either George Steinbrenner gets down on the ground and crawls to Joe Torre with loads of money and begs him to come back, or the Yankees are dead to me. Maybe I'll become a Red Sox fan too as the ultimate FU to George. And his worthless children too.

[ChinaCat]

Yankees suck...

LET'S GO METS!

[kms34786]

A poor imitation of "The Decider" BUT IN A BAD WAY.

When he's in Colorado is he going to be a Rockies fan because of the "Purple Mountains Majesty"?

You have to be pretty insecure to pander to the "Sports Vote".

[Nommo]

Thank you. The season ended when the Yankees lost the series to Cleveland. Simple as that. There is only next year now, and how the Yanks go about filling the holes.
I wonder if this guy has the stones to show up in the Stadium again.

[larry278]

If boss Geo gives you freebies to a sky box-Rudy doesn't need stones. It isn't like Rudy was Mike Bloomberg or even Ed Koch.