You Bet It's a Jersey Thing
Note: I am writing this before the Yankees/Blue Jays Game Four of the American League Division Championship. So far, the series is still alive.
I listen to sports radio on short trips around town and true crime for every other ride. Recently, with the way the New York Yankees have been playing, most calls to the station either admonish the team for their poor play or praise them for their moments of greatness.
In the third game of the series, the Yankees had to win or their season was over. Fortunately, they won (and looked unstoppable doing so).
One caller told the hosts that his nine-year-old son could wear his Aaron Judge jersey to school the next day but said his son wouldn’t because the Yankees were going to lose. In his son’s defense, when the kid went to bed, the Yankees were losing six to one.
The dad went on to say that he woke his son the next morning and told him he could wear his jersey to school because, “The Yankees won!”
This led to a discussion among the hosts about whether or not the kid should have worn the jersey if the Yankees had lost.
One host stated he would have worn the jersey even if his team lost.
The other host argued, “You’re a grown man and can handle the insults people would throw at you. This is a nine-year-old. I think it’s best he not wear the jersey if the Yankees lost.”
This reminded me of a couple of sports-related (somewhat) events that occurred in my life.
The Jersey
A few years ago, my son Danny and his girlfriend Maddie moved to an apartment in Philadelphia. It also was around his birthday. Our first tour of his apartment was also an impromptu gift exchange before going out to dinner. One of those gifts was from his mother. It was a jersey.
A football jersey.
A New York Giants football jersey.
After Danny held it up, his mom added enthusiastically, “You wear that with pride when you go out to watch the game!”
Did I mention they lived in Philadelphia?
The rest of the room shouted, in unison, “No!”
I don’t believe that jersey ever saw the light of day.
The Bet
In 1971, Muhammad Ali was set to fight Joe Frazier in a bout entitled The Fight of the Century.
At the time, I was in middle school, and everyone I knew thought Muhammad Ali was going to win — everyone including my seventh-grade English teacher, Mr. R. Gill, not Mr. F. Gill (my Jonas Salk Middle School friends know what I mean – hi, guys).
Somehow, and for some reason, I ended up making a bet with Mr. R. Gill on the outcome of the fight.
Mr. R. Gill wanted Ali, I wanted Frazier.
The wager?
The loser had to buy the winner lunch.
High stakes for a seventh grader.
And like the caller’s son from the radio show, I went to bed not knowing the outcome of the fight.
That was until the next morning when my mother came into my room and woke me up.
“Congratulations,” she smiled, “you won your lunch!”
Turns out, Frazier won by unanimous decision, and it was Ali’s first professional loss.
That’s a lot of weight to put on a sandwich.
But it was free, so there’s that.
As I finish this post, we know the outcome of the Yankees’ game.
They lost the fourth game of the season and their season is over.
Sorry, kid — better luck next year.
