NEW YORK – It’s been nine years since the team won the World Series. Add that to the fact that they have the league’s highest payroll and a brand new $1.5 billion stadium funded mostly by taxpayers, and you can start to understand why New Yorkers are expecting a lot from the Yankees this year. World Series fever has hit the city.
Stepping out of the subway in the Bronx, I’m engulfed in a sea of blue and white. This is the heart of Yankees territory, and fully half the people going are wearing a Yankees cap. Already, yesterday morning, hardcore fans were lining up in front of the new stadium for the exorbitantly-priced tickets.
“This is it. I feel it. They’re gonna win, they have a magical team this year,” said Larry Brown, 43, one of the Bronx fans I met outside Yankee Stadium. Inside, players were sitting down with the press with only 24 hours left before the opening game.
A table was set up for each player in the room, almost giving it the feel of a big job fair. Some tables were more popular than others. The cameras were all crowded around Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, the team’s stars. “I rediscovered the fun of playing baseball,” Rodriguez said about the playoffs.
A-Rod has come a long way. The scandals over his relationship with Madonna and steroid use were headline news only a few months ago. But times have changed. The highest-paid player in baseball history looks fairly relaxed in spite all the pressure he’s under. There’s no doubt his new girlfriend, actress Kate Hudson, will be sitting in the stands for tonight’s game, just like she has at all his recent games. The press is even calling her the new Yankees mascot.
“It’s so important that they win this year,” former Montreal Expos and New York Mets player Derek Aucoin told me later. He’s lived in Manhattan for the past 11 years and owns the Baseball Center training facility.
“This is the team that’s won the most world championships of any sport,” he said. “They got the best free agents this year; they have a new stadium and the highest payroll. It’ll be a big disappointment if they don’t win. The season will be wasted.”
The Yankees making the World Series is also very good for the economy and means a little sunshine during some dark economic times. A single Yankees World Series game generates $11.9 million in spinoffs for New York City, according to data from the Economic Development Corporation.
A World Series game is a dream come true for local businesses and restaurants. At The Dugout bar, located right in front of Yankee Stadium, they’re expecting so many extra fans that they knocked a hole in the wall yesterday to make another emergency exit. “In one night, we’re going to cover our expenses for the next three months,” said the bar’s manager, Louis Smith. That adds up to about $50,000 in one night. “It’s a very good boost for the neighbourhood. We hope they make it to seven games.”
It’s the same feeling at the Yankees store in Midtown, which happens to be just around the block from A-Rod’s Park Ave. penthouse. The clothing displays are empty after fans tore through a hundred boxes of merchandise. “We haven’t been busy like this since 2003,” said manager John Camilleri. The hottest items are Rodriguez and Jeter jerseys.
All the anticipation has led to a tidal wave of media coverage, which can only be adding to New Yorkers’ baseball frenzy. The New York Post is printing a special 25-page World Series section today. Yesterday, it was all about mocking Philadelphia, including taking shots at their green mascot, the Philly Phanatic, their drunk fans, their haute cuisine (cheesesteak and scrapple) and their best-known athlete – Rocky – who also happens to be fictional.
With the fever running this high, things just might boil over at tonight’s game…
