Kaddish + Baseball = A-Rod sucks.
I’m so conflicted by this post-season. I’m torn between my hatred of the Yankees, a deep and abiding antipathy, and my love for Jon Seigle, who left us last spring. But to explain this conflict fully, I have to back up to the spring of 2003.
That was the year that Carmelo Anthony was bringing the spotlight to SU hoops. That was also the year that my dad had passed away, and I was saying Kaddish for him every day. In case you’re unfamiliar with the tradition, the Kaddish is the Jewish memorial prayer, recited every day (three times a day according to tradition), by the sons of the departed. My dad having passed away late in 2002, that meant that I was given the responsibility of saying Kaddish for him throughout the following year. Most of 2003, to be exact. And the teaching is that the Kaddish secures for the departed admission into the world to come, known more commonly as heaven. In other words, I said Kaddish for my dad, so he could have a place in heaven.
While I was doing that, the Orange were slowly and gradually working their way toward the NCAA tournament. A season that had its early ups and downs took shape in January, especially once Cuse beat Pitt, who was then ranked number two in the polls. In fact, had Cuse not beat them, the Panthers would have been ranked number one. And as the season progressed, the Orange had one miracle come-from-behind victory after another. There were more than a dozen games in which Cuse trailed in the second half, but finished with a win. The final regular season game, against Rutgers, they trailed by more than a dozen in the second half. But finished with a win. In the second round of the tournament, they trailed Oklahoma State by 18, and still managed to win. Everyone recalls Gerry McNamara’s six threes in the first half against Kansas, but how about the nineteen foul shots that the Jayhawks somehow missed?
Here’s what happened. It’s not that anyone in heaven really cared who won the NCAA tournament. If there really is a heaven, the folks who reside there, and look after things, have weightier issues to worry about. But my Dad, not just a lifelong Orange fan, but a guy who lived and died for the Orange, made such a fuss of himself that someone finally said: “Enough already. Let this guy’s team win the tournament so we can get something done around here.” Or at least, that’s what might have happened.
So now we move to the spring of 2006 when Jon died in a skiing accident. My son Michael, who knew how much I loved Jon, told me that, if I wanted, I could say the Kaddish for Jon. There’s another tradition that, whenever someone passes away without a child who can say the Kaddish, then a friend, or even a stranger, someone other than a male child (that was the tradition), could say Kaddish. Mike asked me if I wanted to do that for Jon, and I thought, why not? But at the same time, recalling 2003, I realized what I was about to do, knowing full well that Jon was as much a Yankees fan as my dad had been a Syracuse fan. So I told my friend Danny, another diehard Yankees fan, that I was going to help his team this year. He didn’t believe me, but as the season wore on, and despite a rocky start, didn’t the Yankees seem to come together? Weren’t they actually the post-season favorites as we found ourselves in October?
Two nights ago, I sat down to watch some of the Yankees-Tigers game. Now deep down, I know what’s happening. I know that Jon, as much a Yankees fan as my dad was a Cuse fan, is bugging the hell out of someone to let his team regain the world championship. And I also know, deep down, that if the Yankees win the world series this year, it proves conclusively, without any shadow of a doubt, that there really is a heaven somewhere, and that Jon has been reserved a place in that heaven. I mean, how else can you explain the Phillies, who themselves were locked in a race for a post-season berth, letting Bobby Abreu go? And to the Yankees of all places? This is the same Abreu who knocked in four runs in the opening game of the ALDS series against the Tigers.Same for the resurgence of Johnny Damon, so banged up in his last year in Boston, but so healthy, and so productive all year for the Yankees.
So I should find some satisfaction in seeing the Yankees win this year, right? But still, as I sat in front of the TV watching Game one of the ALDS, after the Tigers had scored three runs to make it a game, trailing at that point by 5-3, I found myself rooting instinctively against the Yankees. I loved watching A-Rod strike out. (Sorry, but I can’t count myself among the fans who feel sorry for A-Rod, who feel that it’s wrong to boo a guy who hits 35 home runs and knocks in over 100. The best part of last year’s dismal post-season was when A-Rod ended the Yankees series with the Angels.) When the Yankees scored two more runs, and put the game out of reach, I turned the TV off and went to bed.
And so I’m stuck with this conflict. If the Yankees win, I’ll know that Jon is safe; that he’s found a place in the world to come. And I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that my having said Kaddish was more than just a way to make peace with myself for having lost a friend. But at the same time, I’ll have to live with the knowledge that I played a role in allowing the hated Yankees to win yet another world series. What RedSox fan wants to know that he contributed, even in the slightest degree, to a Yankees championship? After all, we’ve had the satisfaction of knowing these past two years that, regardless of how long the Sox went without that championship, for the time-being, it’s been a longer dry spell for the Yankees.
We’ll have to see how this plays out over the next few weeks. But here’s where we are, at least for the time being. I want to know that Jon is OK, and I want to think that saying Kaddish for him was a good thing. At the same time, I really can’t help but root for the Tigers. And if the Yankees never win another series, it will be too soon for me. Maybe my son John has the right solution: the Yankees win; Jon Seigle goes to heaven; but A-rod sucks and doesn’t drive in a single run. So far so good.
That was the year that Carmelo Anthony was bringing the spotlight to SU hoops. That was also the year that my dad had passed away, and I was saying Kaddish for him every day. In case you’re unfamiliar with the tradition, the Kaddish is the Jewish memorial prayer, recited every day (three times a day according to tradition), by the sons of the departed. My dad having passed away late in 2002, that meant that I was given the responsibility of saying Kaddish for him throughout the following year. Most of 2003, to be exact. And the teaching is that the Kaddish secures for the departed admission into the world to come, known more commonly as heaven. In other words, I said Kaddish for my dad, so he could have a place in heaven.
While I was doing that, the Orange were slowly and gradually working their way toward the NCAA tournament. A season that had its early ups and downs took shape in January, especially once Cuse beat Pitt, who was then ranked number two in the polls. In fact, had Cuse not beat them, the Panthers would have been ranked number one. And as the season progressed, the Orange had one miracle come-from-behind victory after another. There were more than a dozen games in which Cuse trailed in the second half, but finished with a win. The final regular season game, against Rutgers, they trailed by more than a dozen in the second half. But finished with a win. In the second round of the tournament, they trailed Oklahoma State by 18, and still managed to win. Everyone recalls Gerry McNamara’s six threes in the first half against Kansas, but how about the nineteen foul shots that the Jayhawks somehow missed?
Here’s what happened. It’s not that anyone in heaven really cared who won the NCAA tournament. If there really is a heaven, the folks who reside there, and look after things, have weightier issues to worry about. But my Dad, not just a lifelong Orange fan, but a guy who lived and died for the Orange, made such a fuss of himself that someone finally said: “Enough already. Let this guy’s team win the tournament so we can get something done around here.” Or at least, that’s what might have happened.
So now we move to the spring of 2006 when Jon died in a skiing accident. My son Michael, who knew how much I loved Jon, told me that, if I wanted, I could say the Kaddish for Jon. There’s another tradition that, whenever someone passes away without a child who can say the Kaddish, then a friend, or even a stranger, someone other than a male child (that was the tradition), could say Kaddish. Mike asked me if I wanted to do that for Jon, and I thought, why not? But at the same time, recalling 2003, I realized what I was about to do, knowing full well that Jon was as much a Yankees fan as my dad had been a Syracuse fan. So I told my friend Danny, another diehard Yankees fan, that I was going to help his team this year. He didn’t believe me, but as the season wore on, and despite a rocky start, didn’t the Yankees seem to come together? Weren’t they actually the post-season favorites as we found ourselves in October?
Two nights ago, I sat down to watch some of the Yankees-Tigers game. Now deep down, I know what’s happening. I know that Jon, as much a Yankees fan as my dad was a Cuse fan, is bugging the hell out of someone to let his team regain the world championship. And I also know, deep down, that if the Yankees win the world series this year, it proves conclusively, without any shadow of a doubt, that there really is a heaven somewhere, and that Jon has been reserved a place in that heaven. I mean, how else can you explain the Phillies, who themselves were locked in a race for a post-season berth, letting Bobby Abreu go? And to the Yankees of all places? This is the same Abreu who knocked in four runs in the opening game of the ALDS series against the Tigers.Same for the resurgence of Johnny Damon, so banged up in his last year in Boston, but so healthy, and so productive all year for the Yankees.
So I should find some satisfaction in seeing the Yankees win this year, right? But still, as I sat in front of the TV watching Game one of the ALDS, after the Tigers had scored three runs to make it a game, trailing at that point by 5-3, I found myself rooting instinctively against the Yankees. I loved watching A-Rod strike out. (Sorry, but I can’t count myself among the fans who feel sorry for A-Rod, who feel that it’s wrong to boo a guy who hits 35 home runs and knocks in over 100. The best part of last year’s dismal post-season was when A-Rod ended the Yankees series with the Angels.) When the Yankees scored two more runs, and put the game out of reach, I turned the TV off and went to bed.
And so I’m stuck with this conflict. If the Yankees win, I’ll know that Jon is safe; that he’s found a place in the world to come. And I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that my having said Kaddish was more than just a way to make peace with myself for having lost a friend. But at the same time, I’ll have to live with the knowledge that I played a role in allowing the hated Yankees to win yet another world series. What RedSox fan wants to know that he contributed, even in the slightest degree, to a Yankees championship? After all, we’ve had the satisfaction of knowing these past two years that, regardless of how long the Sox went without that championship, for the time-being, it’s been a longer dry spell for the Yankees.
We’ll have to see how this plays out over the next few weeks. But here’s where we are, at least for the time being. I want to know that Jon is OK, and I want to think that saying Kaddish for him was a good thing. At the same time, I really can’t help but root for the Tigers. And if the Yankees never win another series, it will be too soon for me. Maybe my son John has the right solution: the Yankees win; Jon Seigle goes to heaven; but A-rod sucks and doesn’t drive in a single run. So far so good.
posted by pops | 11:16 PM
1 Comments:
G-Man,
Sorry to say, but after last night, the equation makes sense - of sorts. No 2006 Rings for the Yankees, notwithstanding my efforts, which were sincere even though they created all that inner conflict. For the solution to the equation, check out the next post.
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