Gen. Ludd,

It's funny, but I was thinking/wondering the same thing, that there is a connection between the Boss and the boos. Certainly the mob seems to be channeling their inward Steinbrenners when we boo our own.

I am too young to really remember -- I was 7 in 1980 -- what came before the Boss, which is probably too bad.

I remember going to the Stadium as a boy in the late '50s and watching the great Mantle go 0 for 4, striking out mightily and falling in a twisted heap with the bases loaded in the ninth. The Yanks lost, but no one booed.

The teams of the mid-60s justly deserved our vocal displeasure. But the few fans to show up in those days didn't lustily boo Horace Clark, Ruben Amaro, Fred Talbott, and the rest of that ragtag crew, even when they were 20 games back.

I was there in 1981 when Reggie, then sporting a monstrous contract, a big mouth and a .230 average, struck out four times. You guessed it. No boos.

What's happening to ARod at the Stadium is a disgrace that has little to do with the size of his contract, his personality or the evolution of the Bronx cheer. It has all to do with a younger generation of Yankee fans who have bought into George Steinbrenner's destructive philosphy of winning now and at all costs. Any season that doesn't end with a world championship is a failure sure to enrage the Boss and trigger changes. Slumps and off years can't be tolerated if they deter the Boss from tearily clutching the World Series throphy in the clubhouse.

The Steinbrenner philosophy is now as much engrained in the Yankee tradition as are the Monuments that once graced centerfield. And the fans have grown to believe in it, too. While it helped lift a moribund team back to its lofty heights, its dark side can be seen every time poor ARod strikes out or flubs a grounder at third. WHAT? A MISTAKE? A SLUMP? BOOOO!! HE GETS PAID TOO MUCH FOR THAT. BOOO!! HE MUST HIT ALL THE TIME. BOOO!!

The fans reaction just encourages Steinbrenner to do more of the same, which reinforces the fans' reation. They feed on each other, and ARod is getting chewed up in the process.

This old Yankee fan is saddened by it all and can't wait for the Boss to retire.

To Chrisu,

I'm glad you understand the Bronx Cheer, and I'm glad you point out that it is idiotic to boo your own players, as it surely is (unless, as you point out, they are last year's Knicks -- and likely next year's Knicks).

As concerns A-Rod I think most of the other posts here are salient, in that he is the highest paid baseball player in the history of the game, has had pretty sick stats even for an off-year, and is arguably the best all-around player of his or many others' generation (but of course time will tell ... once upon a time Griffey Jr. fit this bill).

It is true that "because we want our guys to succeed so badly" is a weak justification for self-booing, and further it's a foregone conclusion. All fans want their guys to succeed, and badly. However, one thing I can say, idiotic or not, is that outside of the Red Sox (and to a lesser extent the Mets), Yankee fans don't really care who the opposition is. This may come from the fact that our team has historically been so successful, but I think that it's actually broadly applicable to many teams and their fans. I really can't think of too many regular-season situations where fans regularly boo non-rival opponents so their team can feel better about themselves -- or for any other reason. Don't know why this is, but it's interesting.

Considering this, and considering that the Bronx Cheer is essentially the action of a mob (actions which recall phrases like "lowest common denominator"), it's only logical that guys like A-Rod, who are supposed to be scary good, get rained upon.

Before you hop on me for discounting the opposition (there have been at least five teams better than the Yankees in recent years), I would argue that it reflects an attitude that most athletes take when facing any of their opponents. The good athlete doesn't become awed by his opponent -- if he does he's psyched himself out. If he fails then he may be hard on him self (boo himself, smash water coolers, see Paul O'Neill), or appear to not be hard on himself (see A-Rod, who rarely even slams his helmet into its cubby-hole). Either way the perception of success or failure lies within and not without -- regardless of whether or not this is in fact the case (whether or not you really are over-matched by Pedro or Santana).

Maybe the real reason for the Bronx Cheer is that Yankees fans are assholes. Maybe this causes guys like Contreras to get shipped to Chicago (and kick serious ass) and guys like Clemens dig a little deeper and get themselves a ring. Who knows.

When Ichiro first joined the Mariners and the American League, he managed to post an "infield home run". In what was to become a signature move, he beat out an infield ground ball to reach first. He then promptly stole second. Encouraged by the ease of that manuever, he next stole third. On that play, the now rattled catcher overthrew the third baseman, so Ichiro ambled on home. Sure, there were a couple of pitches in there after the hit, but the follow-up batter was still at the plate when Ichiro scored. Shades of Little League, indeed!

PS: I don't have the exact time and place at hand, but as someone once observed, you could look it up.

Enough about the Tour de France letter writing campaign already, which I think is comprised of two people. (Well, the event is over, so I guess that is the end of it). But in general, can we please end the "Hey King, why didn't you write about my marginal, crappy sport today?" comments? Do you not feel some sort of closure on an event until King Kaufmann tells you what to think about it? By lavishing attention on your event does King validate you and your sport? I could complain to him that he doesn't write about my team everyday, but hey, that is what the local newspaper is for. So, if King does not cover your sport, please go find an alternate outlet to read up on it and spare me these digressions from the usually good discussion on going about a topic that people actually care about.