Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry Hits Home

Author: Joshua Carson

The lounges were packed, dialogue between the opposing fans hostile and the outcome - sadly predictable. The palpable dynamic on campus during the American League Championship Series (ALCS) between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees was intense. Debate that started in front of the television oftentimes spilled over into conversation in the classroom as professors and students alike appreciated the historic enormity of the series, which ended on Saturday night with a solo walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 11th inning from Yankees third basemen Aaron Boone.

While few students were on campus to watch the final game Thursday night, the series, which showcased seven games over a nine day span, brought the college community together for what turned out to be an incredibly exciting event, strung with epic comebacks, an embarrassing brawl and tragic defeat.

Signs of the momentous series were widespread on campus as fans felt compelled to brandish their loyalties through hats, T-shirts and banners hung from dorm rooms. For baseball fans, analysis, second-guessing and future predictions dominated conversation over dinner - when they pulled themselves away from the game to actually go and eat.

Over the clapping and cheering, students wrote papers, read novels and skipped nighttime screenings for the opportunity to watch their team, whether it be the Yankees or the Red Sox, defeat its historic enemy. Even students not watching the game struggled to concentrate over the taunting chants as Red Sox fans proclaimed "Yankees Suck!" while Yankees supporters responded, "1918!"

For both Yankee and Red Sox fans, there was a sense if inevitability. The Yankees, who have won 26 World Series titles in their distinguished history, felt they were destined to win another. The Red Sox fans, who have not celebrated a World Series title since 1918, sensed that their year had finally come.

Coming into the ALCS, the two teams had squared off 26 times, with the Yankees taking 14 of those regular series games. Everyone watching the games at The Grille or in a lounge knew the series would be close. And it was not only the players on the field who pushed their physical and mental limits but also Middlebury College students and faculty who were captivated by the games.

Katie Herd '06.5 watched every game of the ALCS, balancing her support for the Yankees with her homework and reading. "I definitely did my work around the game," she said. "But it got difficult. I would watch and be studying or work around it."

Dean of Advising and Assistant Professor of American Literature Karl Lindholm teaches a first-year seminar titled "Segregation in America: Baseball's Negro Leagues," as well as various other courses on the relationship between baseball and American culture. A lifelong Red Sox fan, Lindholm was "very disappointed" and "emotionally drain[ed]" after the series, and yet he remains loyal to the team that he has supported for five decades.

"I have my life back," Lindholm said. "The Red Sox play in the postseason was just so exhausting - every game was to the ninth [inning]. It's hard because you don't get enough sleep, you don't get enough work done. But I watched every pitch."

Even President John McCardell offered his opinion on the series. While his allegiance lies with the Baltimore Orioles, he noted, "The Yankees initially opposed the relocation of the Browns to Baltimore, this in spite of the fact that the Yankee franchise began as the Baltimore Orioles before moving to New York in 1902. This means I have always hated the Yankees. So, I am rooting for the Red Sox but fear the Yanks will win."

Whether supporting the Yankees or the Red Sox, every fan that followed the ALCS felt the power and emotion of playoff baseball. Even those students who lacked all interest could not help but be touched as the furor and passion of the fans inundated the campus for seven games of playoff baseball.