Big City of Dreams

Its wierd. I was doing some daydreaming today and I started thinking about the landscape of New York sports and how it has changed just int he 15 or so years that I have been following it. I mean, I came into play as the Mets were on the downslide. In addition, the Yankees were at the bottom of baseball. The Knicks were solid, but nothing special and the Rangers were the same. The Rangers though of course were near the end of the 54 year title drought. The Jets were near the bottom of the NFL (per usual), but the Giants were on top of the NFL. They were really the one shinging light in a dark period for New York sports.



In the time since then we (New York) have had pretty much every team compete at a championship lever for at least a season or two. While only the Rangers and the Yankees (who enjoyed a dynasty) won titles, the Giants and Knicks both made it to the Super Bowl and NBA Final respectively. When I look at the health of New York sports though it really starts and ends with baseball. While I truly believe that no team could envigorate New York like the Knicks, no sports drives the City like baseball.



In every way you look at it, New York baseball is as healthy as it has ever been. Attendence is at an all time high for both the Mets and the Yankees. Both teams have their own regional sports networks and both have competitive ballclubs. In addition, no matter what time of year it is baseball rules sports talk radio and has an article or two in the local newspapers.



It was not always like this. To be honest, the Yankee dynasty was the spark, but the aspect that truly exploded the the baseball landscape was the Red Sox/Yankee rivalry. It had been around for years, but not until the Red Sox basically declared war and the Yankee fans became just as passionate haters of the Sox as Red Sox Nation did of them did this rivaly really peak. At the same time the Mets and their fans felt left out. As a result they have spent more money and increased their passion for winning as well. The end result is the New York baseball world we currently live in, which is hysteria.



Times change though. With this AROD situation looming, the Yankees could be on the verge of a few years out of the playoffs. While the Yankees have a ton of young pitching talent in the minors, there does not seem to be much position player talent and with there being more money spread throughout baseball than ever it is tougher to sign players away from other teams.



In addition, I wanted to touch on a point I made earlier concerning the Knicks and how they can grab the city like no other team. They need to realize that this could change as well. With the Nets moving into Brooklyn and the Isiah/Dolan duo restroying any confidence and trust that the fans had with the fans they could end up being the second basketball teams in New York.

Anyway, just trying to say times change and while we right now Can not fathom the Yankees being on top of the baseball world and being the most loved and hated team, it can happen. Remember the 1980s. The Knicks need to watch out as well. One more Isiah filled year and they may be already gone.

STKAFI