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Baseball- America’s favorite pastime. A game based on the rivalries, traditions, and of course, superstitions. It is what makes the game fun, and the fans true to their teams. There is no bigger rivalry than the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, dating back to when professional baseball became popular. With every game, every practice comes explanations and superstitions of each outcome of the game, resulting in curses. “Curses start off very easily. It’s all the power of suggestion and they take on a life of their own,” said Dan Gordon, an avid baseball writer. The eighty- six year losing streak jynx, or ‘The Curse of the Bambino” of Red Sox after they sold Babe Ruth is probably the most well-known. Another superstition with the Red Sox accounts for their retired jersey numbers. They have number 9 for Ted Williams, 4 to Joe Cronin, 1 for Bobby Doerr and 8 for Carl Yastrzemski. If those numbers are put together, they form a date, 9-4-18, April fourth, 1918, the day before Red Sox won the last Championship until the one in 2004. Some laugh at these ideas, but to serious baseball fans, this is no joke.
No wonder many Yankee fans were outraged at what they found out was under the newly built Yankee stadium. A construction worker of Bronx, New York, but a long time lover of the Boston Red Sox, Gino Castignoli, steathly put a David Ortiz t-shirt in the foundation while building the Yankee stadium. When the foundation dried, the shirt remained hidden and the rest of the million dollar stadium was built on top of it. The worker finally confessed to the NY Post of his dirty deed, after the Yankees crushed his hopes of a curse when they beat the Red Sox in the stadium. Two other workers, whose names were withheld, said that they remember Castignoli, who only worked for a day on the site and can predict where the shirt would be. The shirt happened to be buried underneath the visitor’s dugout, under almost five feet of concrete. Yankee fans were absolutely outraged at the possibility of a hex lingering over the new stadium, while the Red Sox fans secretly smiled at the possibility of a good luck charm buried underneath. When the knowledge of the t-shirt was revealed, the workers immediately put on their hardhats and got to digging up the stadium, due to the superstition. At 3:25 pm, the tattered jersey was found, and although it looked like a measely rag, the words ‘RED’ were clearly visible. Sighs of reliefs came from the Yankee fans, and even some Yankee officials as they all gathered around to watch the jersey to be removed.
Castignoli, as it turns out, happens to be a criminal pre- jersey incident. He pleady guilty to a 40-million dollar illegal gambling streak and involvement with mobsters. He may be in trouble again as the Yankee management may press charges and sue the Red Sox fanatic man. To me, sueing this man would be an absolutely rediculous. Castignoli did it in the spirit of the game, to show loyalty to his game. Is that not what baseball is all about? The fans bring character to the game, and if it was not for the craziness of the superstition, myths, and even burying a t-shirt to create a new one, baseball would not be the same. Although I can see why the Yankee fans would be angry at the potential handicap of their team, but things like these make the rivalries stronger, and make the games more exciting to watch.
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I don’t think that anyone should get in trouble for this. The Red Sox Yankees rivalry has been one of the oldest and most entertaining match ups in all of sports. I was able to witness it firsthand on Friday night when we went and saw the game. It is amazing how passionate the fans are from both sides about their teams. I think that both sides can admit that this was just an extension of the rivalry that might have gone just a little to far. If the Yankees are really that upset then the Red Sox can always pay for the damages. Punishing the one man who did it is only going to make the rivalry turn into a hate fest more then it already is. As much fun as it might be to see a brawl once in a while it is certainly not in the spirit of the game and it does not reflect the overall abilities of the players. This was a great idea and it is to bad that the man got caught. The fact remains that the Red Sox are the best team in Baseball and always will be. GO SOX.
Comment byI read about this and would have loved for the shirt to stay there planted in the foundation. It is amazing what a little superstition can do to people. They had to dig through feet of concrete to find this jersey. I completely agree with Sean that the man who buried this jersey in the foundation should not be punished because where does it say that a construction worker cannot bury a jersey in the foundation of the they are working on? I loved the idea as well, I would have loved to hear about it after the stadium was built so no one could do anything about the jersey, but too bad. Oh yeah, and I agree with Sean, GO SOX.
Comment byAlthough the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry is one that has been plagued with superstition i find it unfair to let the construction worker off the hook so easily. How can you let a man that is being paid to build the new stadium deface it by putting a red sox jersey underneath it. If this stunt was pulled in Boston i can’t imagine the commotion that it would cause. Although this man might have been all fun and games with his original idea he needs to be punished in someway for his actions. I am not saying the yankees should sue him for thousands of dollars, but he should be made to pay for the new cement which would at least show that this kind of activity should not be commended.
Comment byGreat blog Tory! This is a very interesting topic and I really enjoyed reading it. It never gets boring and always keeps the reader’s interest. Playing sports myself, I agree, superstitions are made very easily, and once they are made, you never stop following them until something new comes up. I think it’s hilarious that a Red Sox fan who currently lives in New York decided to bury a Red Sox jerser underneath the Yankee Stadium. The part that I like most about it is that he actually told people about it. He let it out to the public and all of New York that there is a Red Sox jersey under Yankee Stadium and that there is a chance that they are going to be cursed. If New York fans really had faith in their Yankees they would have just thought that it was a joke and ignored it. However, considering Yankee fans are scared of the rising Red Sox, they all panicked and demanded for it to be dug up. I don’t think that Gino should get in trouble for this. The man is already in a lot of trouble and his act didn’t harm anyone.
Comment byI honestly think this whole situation has blown way out of proportion. Even though the spirit around the rivalry is fun and entertaining, I think the superstition is stupid. Teams don’t do well because the lack skill or simply don’t match up to the better teams. The Cubs haven’t won for 100 years because they’ve sucked for 100 years, despite having Sammy Sosa for so long. The man is getting in trouble over a silly superstition. No crime was actually committed and the man should be left alone.
Comment byThis is a great blog entry Tory, definitely one of your best. This gets right to the heart and sole of what makes sports great. That is Competition, not only competition between the teams themselves but between the fans and cities. It should be interesting to see if there is anymore talk of the jersey, or if the Yankee fans will be able to retaliate in an equally clever fashion. The jersey situation is an excellent example of how rivalries can be fun without having to get out of hand. To often you hear stories about brawls breaking out at Sox Yankees games, and in a way that disgraces the games.
Comment byI can’t believe they dug it up! It would have been great if they hadn’t gone through the trouble. If the Yankees had had a bad season with the jersey down there it would have been more evidence of the curses existence. Great blog. I don’t usually believe in curses as I’m not very superstitious, however I believe that something exists between the Red Sox and Yankees which cannot be denied.
Comment byI do not think that anybody should be to blame for this. You have two teams that ever since the game began have been rivals, and this is just going a little further. It is really all in good fun in my eyes. It was funny that the people building the stadium in New York were Boston fans to begin with. Than they took the time to lay down one layer, let it dry, put the shirt in and than laid the second layer. I mean maybe someone should pay for the damage to rebuild the dugout floor, but nothing beyond that. It is just a game in the end!
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