As the Yankees inch closer to a return to normalcy, or your whatever your cliché of choice may be, their fans salivate at the chance to stick it to Red Sox Nation once more, while celebrating the end of nearly a full decade of nothingness.
Such is life in the Big Apple, where it don't mean a thing if you ain't got that ring.
But for us less-privileged kids, what is the expiration date of a World Series win? Surely that sweep of the San Franciscans 20 seasons ago, however sweet, has lost its luster.
Bill Simmons once decided that five years was a long enough grace period, meaning five years without complaining about managerial moves, extended slumps, or tearful trades. In response to a whining Yankee fan during the 2003 World Series, Simmons penned:
So for all those ungrateful Yankee fans out there -- at least the few who can read -- put a sock in it. As one of my readers once wrote, rooting for that team is like rooting for the house in blackjack. With 26 grace periods in the bank, you should be walking around with one of those permanently dumb smiles on your face. You know how Michael Douglas looks now that he's got Catherine Zeta-Jones? That should be you. I don't want to hear another peep until the year 2053.
Not surprisingly, there were some who disagreed with the self-proclaimed Sports Guy.
Said the folks at Barstool Sports:
Since the Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, Mr. Simmons has repeatedly urged Red Sox fans to embrace a five (or ten) year grace period and not be concerned about the team’s performance in the 2005 season. In this regard, Mr. Simmons is a buffoon.
Upon the final out of the World Series, Red Sox fans enjoyed an actual grace period: It was called the off-season. Mr. Simmons apparently missed the grace period from November until April because he was too busy posing for Improper Bostonian portraits and pondering how to rehash the same Red Sox championship article for the 17,000th time and passing it off as an original work.
Or joeSportsfan who had this to say when the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals stumbled out of the gate in 2007 (Simmons- or someone posing as him- replied to the story):
It's only June…we’re supposed to give them time. But they have the same amount of wins as the freaking Washington Nationals. Put them in the AL East and they’re already over ten out and we’re talking about which players to dump.
And those Royals that were so easy to mock? They just beat the Cardinals 8-1.
The grace period has officially left the building. We’re right back to where we started.
Except now I have a DVD narrated by Billy Bob Thornton.
I'm thinking it depends on the franchise- and the fan base. Like if the Rangers ever win one, their followers might be set for another fifty years. On that note, I guess it would also depend on one's age. I sincerely hope that in the year 2049, I am not blogging about the 60th anniversary of the A's last World Series win.
What are your thoughts?
Oh, and about the big AN changes coming Tuesday, a little spoiler alert: I will still be here (well, I hope), and I will still be a man.
