It was fate. I was born a couple of miles north of Yankee Stadium and spent the first 13 years of my life in the Bronx. I have been a Yankee fan for over 60 years.

I can still remember going to the stadium with my dad. I can remember going to the 1956 World Series against the Dodgers. We didn't have tickets, but a patient of my dad's got us admitted to the press area behind home plate in the mezzanine. As reporters came and went, we had to constantly change our seats. I never sat next to my father at any time, but it was still terrific. The Yankees won. It wasn't the game when Don Larsen pitched the perfect game, but I did get to see Mickey Mantle hit a home run.

I was amazed a few months ago when Rudy Giuliani was in Massachusetts and said he would root for the Red Sox because they were an American League team -- this from someone who calls himself New York's No. 1 Yankee fan. Never would a Yankee fan root for the Red Sox. He should be ashamed of himself. I've been so pleasantly surprised to see how many Yankee fans there are in the Triangle. It's great to see all those hats, license frames and shirts pledging their allegiance to the Yankees.

--Stephen Bank, Morrisville

A hatred not rivaled by Duke-UNC

I am a Red Sox fan by accident of birth, raised in Boston, schooled there, and a New Englander until 1992 when I moved here.

My first hero was Carl Yastrzemski in 1961, and I was in Fenway, bawling, 23 years later when Yaz ran around Fenway, thanking fans for the love affair. The Sox have always had a unique hold on us; maybe it's because spring training means winter may finally be over. Our team came close so many times that it became a national joke, but we never abandoned them.

I respect the Duke-UNC rivalry, but to compare it to Sox-Yankees is a joke. Our rivalry goes back almost 100 years; there is none of the civility of the Duke-Heels fandom. We hate the Yankees, hate their fans, will tell them so to their face, and are plenty willing to back it up, if necessary. We compete with a $60 million payroll disadvantage. We finally conquered them, and now they're chasing us. Priceless.

New England's daily mood is determined by whether the Sox won the night before -- it's a 24/7/365 obsession. Don't suggest we are somehow satisfied to have finally won the World Series (OK, two). We want to win it every year. We are not entitled, as Yankee fans are; we just love our Sox. And I'm tired of apologizing for it.

Johnny Pesky said it best: "When you win you eat better, sleep better and your beer tastes better. And your wife looks like Gina Lollabrigida." It's no wonder that Sox Nation reveres Johnny Pesky.

--Malcolm White, Durham

New Englanders import team traditions

I am married to an over-the-top sports fan-atic and where he is, his brother is right by his side. They were born and raised in Boston with extreme passion and pride for New England sports.

When we relocated to Raleigh where my brother-in-law and his family were living, seven years ago, the traditions began. We have flags that are flown outside our houses, hats in the back window of our car, magnets that have been stolen (probably a Yankees fan), jerseys that have to be worn, items on the mantel, special chairs we sit in while watching the games, license plates that are changed each season, pumpkins carved with a big "B," Crocs, the list goes on and on.

Of course, there are also the guys at Mama Mia's from New York, the Jiffy Lube guys from New York, our friends and neighbors from New York and even the athletic director at our kid's high school from New York, all of whom were delighted to watch the Super Bowl and then converge upon our house just to remind the Boston brothers what the final score was.

Next page >