So I have this friend who is a die-hard Yankees fan. Bless his heart. As you might imagine, we’ve had myriad interesting conversations over the course of the season about the abilities and merits of each other’s teams. Some are civilized and full of intelligent discourse, with analysis of such things as the merits of Joe Girardi and the status of Andy Pettitte's groin. But most are composed of witty banter such as the following:
Me: “Who do you think wins tonight: Rays or Yankees?”
Yankee Dude: “Yanks. Duh. Are you kidding?”
Me: “Way to be profound, Sparky.”
Of course we've bet on these games -- for beers, dinner and other things. But as the games get more intense and the need to win them more critical, I'm thinking about raising the stakes.
Perhaps the loser must take a picture touting the virtues of the winning team. Or maybe he (I'm being optimistic) must make a social media pronouncement in a similar vein. We're not just talking pride or bragging rights here. It's a pennant race, y'all. A tight one. In arguably the best division in baseball. I have a long history of betting with the opposite sex on games feature teams near and dear to me -- I won some serious lunch money thanks to the World Series champion Cincinnati Reds in 1975 but lost an equal amount with the Minnesota Vikings broke my adolescent girl heart after losing (again) in a Super Bowl, this time to Al Davis and his horrible Oakland Raiders, But somehow these current little baseball wagers are more serious -- felt more deeply. Maybe it's because I'm older and wiser and the stakes are higher. I'm more passionate about my teams now, believe it or not. Plus, in this case, it's just a hell of a lot of fun having a Yankee fan eat a bit of crow.
So bring on the boys from the Bronx. Our guys are ready to be less-than-gracious hosts. And here's hoping in the not-too-distant future I'll have a picture of a crabby Yankee Dude telling me that the Rays are the true beasts of the East. Heh heh heh.