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The World Turns Upside Down |
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Written by Mark Leff
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Sunday, 27 January 2008 |
 Few rivalries are comparable to the rivalry of the Yankees and the Red
Sox. But the Boston-New York rivalry transcends baseball. Going back
even to the revolutionary era, New York and Boston have vied for
dominance in the northeast. That competition has seeped into the
sporting world and pervaded it for a century. The Knicks and the
Celtics in the 1970s are a prime example. The Rangers and Bruins of
the same era exemplify it too. The 1986 World Series is unforgettable.
And, of course, the most famous rivalry in sports: Jack Chesbro’s wild pitch. The trade of Babe Ruth. Bucky Dent’s blast. Aaron Boone’s round-tripper. The comeback from 3 games down in the 2004 ALCS.
The Super Bowl is rapidly approaching, and once again, New York will square off against Boston. But New York has historically held the upper hand in the rivalry. The aura of this year’s Super Bowl is a new one, because the new century has marked a sea-change of sorts in the northeast. Boston is taking the reins. The Celtics have returned to a state of dominance while the Knicks can’t buy a winning season. The Patriots have turned the NFL into their playground. The Red Sox have won two World Series in the first few years of the century, while the Mets and Yankees trail on their heels.
When the British surrendered to Colonial troops at the end of the American Revolution, they played a song called, “The World Turned Upside Down.” Such a song is appropriate again. A world where Boston is a greater sports city than New York is an unthinkable one. The laws of reality have shifted. Even Met fans, who haven’t nearly as much reason as Yankee fans do to detest Boston, have seen the new reality and it’s left an awful taste in their mouths.
Fortunately for Gotham’s faithful, there is an opportunity to put the universe back in order. The Giants play the Patriots on football’s biggest stage. They are underdogs and have the chance to prevent the perfect season. To say that the responsibility lies solely on the boys in blue would be unfair, but they have the chance to turn a seemingly relentless tide back in its proper direction.
The Yankees have a potential new dynasty in the making, with arguably the three best pitching prospects in all of baseball and multiple coveted young position players. Just like the almost unbeatable Yankee teams of the late ‘90s, this new Yankee team would feature some of the game’s best players in their prime, homegrown and built on Yankee pride.
But the sooner Boston can be torn down, the better. They’re in a seat of power, but the swagger isn’t there. They’re like the young, idealistic revolutionary who has just succeeded in overthrowing the establishment but doesn’t fully understand the brunt of his newfound power.
Don’t let them get comfortable, Giants. Don’t let them settle in. As New Yorkers have known for a hundred years, empires are hard to take down.
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