I KNOW!!!!!

I had to actually silence my phone on Tuesday night.

I started to get the texts in about the 6th inning.

"What's wrong with YOUR Yankees?????"

"$220 million payroll and they're getting beat!"

"Do you think C.C. has a television on in rehab?"

I answered a few of the good-natured jabs with things like...

"27"

"The 27-Time World Champion Greatest Franchise in the History of Organized American Sports."

I even threw in a:

"Are they on tonight? I'm so bored with the 7 titles I've watched them win...I sometimes just forget that they're in the playoffs."

But I wanted to get some sleep.

After the final out I shut my phone off.

And when I turned it on again in the morning those taunts were waiting for me.

I opened my eyes and the thought that their season was over hit me.

There was no pain involved.

They had a nice year.

But then the texting started:

"How pissed are you?"

"They suck!"

"You suck as bad as them."

"Good thing Steinbrenner isn't alive."

Then the phone rang.

"The Spankees lost."

"I KNOW!!!!"

I screamed at the poor bastard who had chanced a call.

Listen:

I've been rooting for sports teams since about 1968.

I've followed all the major sports and I have, at one time or another, rooted for the following teams:

The Buffalo Bills, The Buffalo Braves, The Buffalo Sabres, The Los Angeles Lakers (when Wilt was there), The Atlanta Braves (when Henry Aaron was there), and the New York Yankees.

I now only openly root for one of those teams.

You know how many titles I've seen?

Eight.

1 by the Lakers in 1973 when they won 33 straight.

and

7 by the Yankees - 1977, 1978, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009.

The rest of you dopey bastards that are calling me have fewer titles than that.

Unless you're Yankees fans.

Then we are virtually tied.

So shut up!