The Birth of a Blog...a Little Bit About Brian...

So as I sat pondering how to start this blog I realized that I should start with a simple introduction. Not with my thoughts on the potential Bill Guerin trade. Not on why Nick Swisher should get more playing time than Xavier Nady. And certainly not with a post on steroids and he who shall remain nameless for right now. So instead I am going to tell you why I am co-authoring a blog titled The Pinstriped Isle.

On the day that I was born I was given my first Yankees hat, thus beginning what has been, up to this point, a life long love affair with the New York Yankees. They have been a constant throughout the course of my life. From Jerry Mumphrey to Mark Texeira, from Oscar Gamble to Nick Swisher and everybody in between. I followed them religiously throughout the 1980's when they could rake with the best of 'em, but they couldn't ever muster much beyond Ron Guidry when it came to quality starting pitching. My following became more intense as the 1990's dawned and I was certain that the new M&M Boys (no, not Mantle and Maris, but Maas and Meulens) would restore the franchise to greatness. I was devastated when the 1994 strike cancelled the playoffs and with it my first chance to watch the Yankees play meaningful baseball in October. I gloated obnoxiously to anyone who would listen when the 1996-2000 Yankees steamrolled anyone in their path (except for Jaret Wright and the 1997 Indians!). And the 2004 ALCS to this day continues to feel like an open wound that somebody is continuously pouring salt into.

If the Yankees have been my life long love affair then the New York Islanders have been the mistress who I just can't stay away from, even though she continues to wreak havoc in my life. I've cheered for the Islanders my whole life as well. I can remember listening to the voice of Jiggs McDonald as my dad watched the dynastic Islanders of the early 1980's. Bryan Trottier was my favorite player because we shared a first name (although I don't spell it with a y). However it was the spring of 1988 when the first place Islanders took on the upstart New Jersey Devils in the playoffs that I began to follow the team with the same sort of passion that I have always followed the Yankees with. Rookie sensation Sean Burke lead the Devils past the Isles in that series. I should have known to run for the hills then. But alas I have been on board for the last 21 seasons, witnessing the Islanders win only two playoff series in that time. I have seen them go through several ownership groups, very few of them who seemed to have even a passing interest in the team. I witnessed first hand the 1994 Rangers come into Nassau Coliseum and humiliate us in Games 3 and 4 of the first round as all of the obnoxious Rangers fans celebrated in our building. I recall the hope of all Islanders fans when John Spano was set to purchase the team and spend big bucks to restore them to respectability, only to find out that he was a fraud and didn't have any money. My blood boiled during the Leafs series of 2002 when Darcy Tucker and Gary Roberts took out Michael Peca and Kenny Jonsson and in effect ruined our chances of a deep playoff run. And I continue to support them fanatically today as they are in year 1 of yet another rebuild.

Two franchises, the Yankees and the Islanders, who couldn't be further apart despite both playing in the NY metropolitan area. One of them the most famous franchise in the world, playing in what was the cathedral of professional sports. The other team is virtually anonymous in their own backyard, playing in a building that is probably the biggest dump in all of professional sports. Hooking all of their hope to the idea that the Lighthouse Project will get done. Over the course of my life I have actually encountered very few people who are passionate fans of both of these teams. Many Yankees fans. A lot of Islanders fans too. But very few who are fans of both, and even less who are as passionate about both as I am. That is until I was introduced to my wife's family for the first time...

In 2002 I met my brother-in-law Sal for the first time. We hit it off pretty quickly as it turned out he was not only a huge Yankees fan, but at that time an Islanders season ticket holder too. I actually remember having a long conversation with him on the day I met him about whether or not the Yankees as we knew them were finished (this was 2002, right after the Angels eliminated them from the playoffs). We decided to co-author this blog because although we are eqaul in our fanaticism for these two teams, we often have vastly different opinions on how the teams should operate. We are hoping to use this blog as a forum to argue back and forth about our teams. Feel free to jump in with comments whenever our discussions dictate that you do so. Enjoy the reading!

-Brian