Monday October 29, 2001

Ryan Finley

I became a big Diamondbacks fan a week ago. No, Greg Swindell didn't appear to me in a dream. Byung-Hyun Kim didn't connect with me in any sort of a mystical way. Bob Brenly didn't baptize me into the purple-and-teal fold with a $14 Bank One Ballpark beer.

I became an Arizona fan the day I realized the New York Yankees were going to the World Series - again.

But something has me feeling sort of weird - I've gotten the vibe that most Americans are afraid to root against New York because of what the city's gone through in the past few months, that disliking the Yanks means that we're disrespecting Rudy Giuliani and all he's done.

That's asinine. It's a game, for crying out loud!

Despising the Yankees does not mean you hate New York or don't recognize the absolute hell they've gone through. Don't feel guilty for hating them because, after all, the Bombers are an easy team to hate.

Where do I start? The stylish, Mr. Perfect shortstop? The headhunting, ageless pitcher? How about the crybaby right fielder? Or, maybe more importantly, the fact that they win so damn much?

Not that the Diamondbacks are a team of young upstarts, but the Yankees have gone out and bought - like a pimp acquires hos - the best players in the world. Rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for Notre Dame against Navy, Nebraska when they face Troy State, Bruce Willis in "Die Hard" movies and Ned Flanders. Why do it? ·

· Even though the Wildcats lost, the UA football team still showed me a lot in its 41-34 loss to USC on Saturday. Not to sound like an eternal optimist, but they showed some huge character in the second half, fighting back from a 31-13 halftime deficit to nearly win it in the end. Now if they could only play the first half well, they might win a conference game here and there·

·The loss was especially hard on, well, me. Nearly four years ago, I went to high school on the last day to decide on colleges with two commitment cards already filled out. Those two schools were - you guessed it - USC and Arizona. I decided on UA because, among other things, it was nearly $20,000 cheaper per year than the University of Spoiled Children, and it was far less pretentious, more burgers and beer than wine and cheese.

The fact that we, as students, can walk on campus at UA and see a rainbow of backgrounds, ethnicities and personalities is a luxury that most schools don't have. Certainly, USC doesn't.

So, basically, every time a UA team loses to the Trojans, I get the feeling that Goliath has beaten David again. Boy, does that piss me off.

But not all was lost. With the Wildcats trailing at the half, I saw a girl walk by with a T-Shirt that read, "We're not pretentious at USC - We're just better than you." It did my heart good to hear UA fans pelt her with four-letter words and obscene gestures. And, in a way, I felt even better about going here ·

· The UA basketball team has listed Wildcat field-goal blocking specialist Peter Hansen as a backup forward for the upcoming season. If they were smart, they'd take Clarence Farmer and Lance Briggs, too. Between the two players, the Wildcats would likely lead the league in intentional fouls, which - as the New York Knicks show every year - is a recipe for success.