From Jayson Stark's "Rumblings and Grumblings"

Let's not kid ourselves - I know we'd all like to think that we're better than this, but look at the flood of postings that occured when Pedro met with SiaS, Jeter got his Gold Glove, etc. Many in Red Sox Nation still suffer from a serious obsession about the Yankees.

Jim D.

Sure thing, Jim D. But what I think what makes this particularly notable is that this is at the Double AA level. Of course there's a lot more gimmickry in the minors and they are prone to have outlandish stunts to attract attendance, but I note that the Sea Dogs don't have a "Celebrate the Breaking of the Curse" promo when ...yet.
They do have ZOOperstars!™ an awful lot.

No question about it. The teams are so closely linked that for some, talking about one, is impossible without talking about another. Yankee fans included.

And a double AA town that was a Sox affiliate a few years ago featuring Nomar and friends...Surprising that Trenton would do this...

This is just weak! Now that the Sox have beat the Yanks and won the World Series they have now idea what to do now.

BASEBALL PROMOTION OF THE WEEK

Just a few weeks after the Yankees' ALCS self-destruction and the Red
Sox's first World Series parade in several years, the Yankees' Double-A
team in Trenton has announced the scheduling of Reset the Curse Day on
April 16 -- the first visit by Boston's affiliate, the Portland Sea
Dogs.

Among the supernatural festivities planned by the Thunder that day:

* The first 2,000 fans under 16 will receive Bambino replica jerseys,
with the No. 3 on the back.

* "The great Babe Ruth in person" will throw out the first pitch,
according to the Trenton press release. If this is true, it would
require the Babe to reverse a more powerful force than The Curse
(seeing as how he's still extremely dead). But whatever.

* There will be a ground-ball fielding contest at first base, in honor
of Bill Buckner.

* And to make sure they summon all the curse-restoration powers in the
cosmos, the Thunder will hold a séance "to conjure up ghosts of
Yankees past." Sorry, Aaron Boone won't be able to make it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/stor...yson&id=1927030

Well of course. The Yankees are still the Sox big rivals, regardless of whether the Sox won or not. And deny it or not, Yankee fans will continue to obsess about the Sox as they are the Yankees chief rival. However, I think it is lame that Yankee fans can't let go of this 'Curse' business though. Think up something else! Be creative!

I don't care, I actually find this pretty funny. It's minor league baseball and that kinda stuff is hilarious. What about the minor league team that offered free Funeral Arangements for the first fans that got there It's all done in good fun.

At the parade a couple people started a Yankees Suck chant and then some guy yelled out, "WHO CARES ABOUT THE YANKEES, WE JUST WON THE F-ING WORLD SERIES." And everyone within earshot realized that the Yankees were just another team. It sounds kinda corny, but it was one of the best moments of the year and kinda summed up the whole playoff run.

edit: spacing

I agree..it is kind of funny. But it's minor league, it's meant to put fans in the seats.

I live near Trenton, very close actually. I have a friend who has season tickets to the Thunder through his job .... I might have to attend and break out the 2004 WS Champions Flag

i think at this point, both team are equally interested in each other. NY has finally been defeated by the sox so of course they are a little worried and would like to shove it to red sox fans because of this. and boston has been defeated by the yanks for the past 86 years so it's hard to forget them

You'd love to think that.

Face it -- the Yanks react. They aren't proactive.

The problem is when the Red Sox don't win anything, Sox fans can't have that sense of privilege of being "long time suffering fans". They'll just be fans of a losing team with no Curse to blame.

And minor league promotions are always goofy. Do you remember the Zero Attendance Day, in which fans were left out of the stadium til the 6th inning so the game could have an official attendance of zero? Ah, that Veeck...

errr most Sox fans did not revel in the curse or being long suffering fans. Speaking of losing and wondering who or what to blame, you'll know that it was Steinbrenner who destroyed your team for the coming five or six seasons. Watch and see - Giambi, A-Rod, Brown, and Sheffield, the dream team!

Two years ago this would have gotten under my skin. We won the world series let them do their little curse plays to put that curse back into effect. Was there ever a curse? No. Will there ever be? No. Is this a AA team just being a AA team? Yes.

Do you honestly believe what you are saying? We're "destroyed for the next 5 or 6 seasons"? I mean really. If we were a team with more financial restraints, your point would be well taken. I know it's not fair, but come on, destroyed?

I'm sure that matty doesn't believe that. Looks to me like he was responding to Sane Yankee Fan's equally ridiculous post. Seriously SYF, haven't you been posting here long enough to realize that the "long tortured Red Sox fans who actually liked losing" you want to believe exist really don't? Seems to me that you're drinking the Al-Yankeezeera and Fox kool-aid a bit too much there pal.

edit: grammar

Thanks Shrek! Still I do not see the Yankees winning the series for some time to come - which in NYC seems to be the same as being "destroyed". The Yankees are going to start running into some financial restraints, the main one being that soon the combined amount of salary, operations cost, and the penalties will cross the over the amount that the Yankees claim the team to be worth - major league baseball will not let them do this. Of course the rules can be rewritten, but realistically, even the Yankees cannot increase the team's salary 10 to 15% every year. The farm system is suspect (and those remaining are currently being discussed as trade bait) and the 2006 season will lead to some very EXPENSIVE Yankee free agents.

Honestly, I think the Series drought for the Yankees may be a decade long - currently they are four years without a title, which in NYC media speak translates to forever.

Shrek, you forgot to mention that little gem about being reactionary and not pro-active. Funniest thing I've read in weeks!

You've gotta love the wacky promotions in minor league baseball to attract attention and fill the seats.

Oh no, six more years! Shit It took me over 19 years before I saw the Yanks win a WS game... Hell I was 18 before I even saw them play a postseason game. I can do six more fun years standing on my head. Math will tell you I was alive in 77, 78, and 81 for the WS teams but a 1, 2 or 4 year old doesn't exactly understand baseball too much.... nor understand why you shouldn't swing at a 3-0 pitch or make out #1 or #3 at third base!

Seriously, I know it's been a four year drought but look it it from a positive perspective... which is obviously not always easy. These four years have been fun to watch. In 2001 the Yankees made the WS and played probably the most memorable and exciting WS I can remember in my lifetime! The 02 team just got beat up on by Anaheim when they caught fire at the right time. The 03 team made the WS after a memorable 7+ game series against Boston. In 04 the Yankees were 1 game from the series (4 times!) and just, once again, ran into a team that started hitting on all cylinders. All four years saw the Yankees run out of the postseason ONLY by the eventual WS winner (AZ, ANA, FLA, BOS). Not a bad four year run, I can't complain too much.

Many fans and media people are just plain spoiled. Sad but true. If it takes another six years to win another championship so be it. As long as the teams are competitive and fun to watch I'm fine with it! I suffered through the 'Mattingly years' so I can deal with misery! Truth be known I bet I have seen more memorable baseball moments from 1995-2004 than many fans will witness in a lifetime.

This minor league stunt is a gimmick, nothing more. For the first time in almost a century the Yanks are on the short side of the rivalry..... at least let us play the sad sack 'lovable looser' role for a while... the gimmick is no different than 'Reverse the Curse' Ice Cream... a goofy PR stunt using the rivalry to sell something... in this case tickets!

Exactly. It's what minor league teams do to attract attention, and it makes sense. In some ways, it equates to a compliment when you get right down to it.

Any Yankee fan that says they aren't obsessed with the Sox and any Sox fan that says they aren't obsessed with the Yankees are lying.

That pretty much sums it up.

I completely agree with that sentiment. I have two Yankee fans as friends and they are always talking about what the Sox are doing and how many games up or down they might be at the time. I also find myself talking about the Yankees with them and how their rotation waws crap and they needed a better bullpen and stuff. I couldn't believe how cocky they were after game 3 of the ALCS and how heartbroken they were after game 7 of the ALCS. I decided not to be a jerk and didn't rub it in and I think they were greatful for that.

But yeah, we are equally obsessed with each other's teams.

And there's nothing wrong with that, that's what makes a rivalry.

After getting the MLB extra innings package on cable this year - I watched about 150 different Red Sox Games. I saw bits and pieces of at least 100 yankee games. As CT Yankee Fan said - the obsession is mutual. My favorite sign seen during the WS was :

Red Sox : 2 games
Cardinals: 0 games

Yankees : No Game Tonight

These wacky minor league teams will do anything to put fannies in the seats. It's really more amusing at that level to be honest. But any Yankee fan who still holds on to this so-called Curse needs therapy. Or maybe they invested so much into "1918" and "Curse of the Bambino" paraphenalia that they have a tough time parting with them.......