The World Series begins tonight with the Texas Rangers taking on the St. Louis Cardinals in St. Louis (8:05 p.m. ET, FOX). Obviously, neither of those teams is from New York. Which begs this question, Yankees and Mets fans -- Do you care about the World Series if your team isn't in it?
To be honest, I have realized that I don't. I have always considered myself a baseball fan, and not 'just' a New York Yankees fan. To be honest, though, I have not watched more than an inning or two of any game since the Yankees were eliminated by the Detroit Tigers -- and I really didn't watch much of anything other than the Yankee games while they were still in it.
Funny thing about that is that I got my hair cut Wednesday morning, and the barber -- who I have known for decades -- asked if I was fired up for the Series. The answer was, no, I'm not, to which he replied "you're a Yankee fan then, not a baseball fan."
He is probably right about that. I say that I love baseball, but unless the Yankees are playing I can't really bring myself to watch baseball -- at least not often, and not with a whole lot of interest.
I has actually probably been years since I have gotten absorbed by playoff or World Series action that did not involve the Yankees. I recognize the drama, the importance of the games and how good these teams are. Somehow, though, it just doesn't captivate me.
When I was a kid and playoff and World Series games were held in the daytime I used to race home from school trying to miss as little of whatever game was on as possible. Maybe it is because in those days you did not get to see baseball every night, so the opportunity was special. I'm not really sure.
I would sort of like to see the Rangers win the World Series. Any time you can cause Cardinals' manager tony LaRussa anguish, that's good enough for me. I just don't care enough to invest myself in the outcome for several hours a day over the next week or so.
I'm curious, New York sports fans. Do you care about the World Series without a New York team in it? Will you plan your evenings around the games? Will you watch only if you have nothing else to do? Only if it gets to a Game 7?
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