He died as he lived.
On the morning of baseball’s All-Star game, George Steinbrenner bid adieu to this World. A fitting day of departure for a man who collected expensive celebrity athletes like they were Silly Bandz. He was the only owner who could look at an All-Star team and, in some years, honestly say, “My Yankees are better than this squad.”
News of George’s death came first as a rumor. Could it have happened any other way? MLB’s Rumor Mill has been headquartered in the Bronx for George’s entire reign. A single, verifiable report of George’s death would not have fit this man.
George’s final deal was a big winner…for his heirs. Due to the Feds inexplicable inability to agree on an estate tax scheme for 2010, a temporary estate tax repeal was in place at the time of George’s death. George, in essence, became the largest free agent in the history of the New York Yankees; the tax avoidance in this case was worth 55% of the value of the Evil Empire.
But there is one element of George’s death that makes little sense.
The Haters, or the bulk of them anyway, are feeling a genuine sense of loss as the preeminent Villain in their sporting lives has now been permanently vanquished. The comments that came into the Facebook fanpage for YankeesHater.com yesterday were largely respectful and reflective in a positive way. Naturally, a few of the Haters stayed their angry course. But these folks were chastised by other Haters. It is the first time that Haters have argued with other Haters on the subject of George.
Take Darth Vader out of Star Wars, and all you have is a bunch of white hats without a cause. That’s not horribly exciting, is it?
As someone posted on Facebook, George made us the haters that we are today. The future of Yankee Hating, however, cannot possibly be pinned to this man. The line between love and hate is thin, and yesterday that line vanished.
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