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.
0 recs | 20 comments
DAMN!
Leopold Bloom - November 2, 2009
I will still be here (sorry)
and I will still be an ass.
sirbed - November 2, 2009
For me, one year was enough
Getting swept in ’90 took all the luster off the ’89 sweep.
Also, a few points:
1. Anything Bill Simmons says is stupid.
2. That Barstool Sports link might be marginally NSFW due to the side-bar pics.
3. I don’t care if my team won a title last year – if they do something badly this year, they are going to hear about.
doctorK - November 2, 2009
I hate how everything about ESPN is all about Boston. Its ok to hate the Yankees, but when the Red Sox win lets enjoy it.
God I hate the Red Sox.
supermarc589 - November 2, 2009
A - friggin' - MEN!
Vacafan - November 2, 2009
Great signature
Billy Frijoles - November 3, 2009
to supermarc that is...
although Vacafan’s is pretty ridiculously awesome as well.
Billy Frijoles - November 3, 2009
one year
OaklandSi - November 2, 2009
Personally
I would say a 4 year grace period is understandable. Now, I’m not lucky enough to remember the 89 Series, as I was barely 2 years old, and probably barely knew what a baseball was, but my entire adult life til now has been void of a title from my favorite sports team.
Cheers to a title in 2010!
Wiers103 - November 2, 2009
I think 3 years is enough.
By that time, even if you had to “rebuild” one year after the W.S. title, you should be on your way back, at least.
Vacafan - November 2, 2009
Mr. Simmons is a buffoon
That is 200-proof truth.
Ray of Lite - November 2, 2009
I vote for 30 years.
There are 30 teams, and in a perfectly balanced world, each team would win every 30 years.
Gaijin_Suketto - November 2, 2009
I dont like Bill Simmons
Dub_TC - November 2, 2009
I don't like Russell Simmons.
Gaijin_Suketto - November 4, 2009
I don't think that a single championship is enough...
… and I understand why folks would want a run of a few years. It’s cool to dominate, to prove you’re not a fluke, and to beat off everyone who wants a piece of you the next year. (After winning a high school soccer league championship my junior year, I admit that the senior year was even more fun – we’d lost our very best players, but were still competitive, and everyone in the league wanted to take us out really badly. We lost the championship game, by the way, but winning a bunch of games that season was the best fun ever.)
So, if you haven’t had a chance to make a run, I say, Keep Trying! But once you’ve made your run, the original players are gone or old or hurt, then head back to the prospect development stage, and don’t complain for as many years as it took to get you there (rough guide – I was going to say 5 years, but it’s not like, you know, a law).
paris7 - November 2, 2009
I'll let you know the next time the A's win the World Series
I wasn’t paying attention to baseball in 1989 (I was too busy playing the NES).
micdog2001 - November 2, 2009
that's why the radio and the video game are not connected, good sir.
Leopold Bloom - November 3, 2009
Hey, at least y'all have won a World Series.
Up in Seattle, we’ve never made it past the ALCS :(
Rachmaninoff - November 3, 2009
Simmons is a freaking columnist
I hate when people rag on Simmons for being “too Boston” or “anything he says is stupid”. His whole gimmick is he is a common fan, sitting in front of his TV like you and I. He’s not supposed to be Gammons or Olney. He’s supposed to care about his teams.
The real reason there is a backlash against Simmons, is that he rose to prominence at the same time, and probably BECAUSE, Boston rose to sports dominance at the same time. If there were blogs back in the mid 80s and a bay area columnist decided to write from a casual observer standpoint, people would hate that person also, because there was a wealth of good teams at that point in time from one area.
I’m not saying I agree with his five year theory, but I also think his style of writing is supposed to make you disagree with him. He’s the guy in the bar you’re having the spirited debate with. Failing to see that perspective is missing the point…
kbtoyz - November 3, 2009
Depends on whom you don’t like. If you haven’t even gone to the playoffs after the WS win for five years and your enemy team hasn’t won for fifteen, that is more tolerable than if you won last year and your enemy team knocked you off this year (e.g. division rival wildcard beats your division winner in the LCS).
You sunk my blankenship - November 4, 2009
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