Posted on 09/16/2010 10:45:08 PM PDT by byteback
Gym-locker heists, bank robberies, daylight holdups — these New York City crimes have only one thing in common, and it is not the culprits.
It is the Yankees caps they wore.
A curious phenomenon has emerged at the intersection of fashion, sports and crime: dozens of men and women who have robbed, beaten, stabbed and shot at their fellow New Yorkers have done so while wearing Yankees caps or clothing.
One of the three suspects in the gym break-ins wore a blue Yankees cap. A security camera photographed the man who tried to rob the Bronx bank, and though his face was largely obscured, his Yankees hat was clearly visible. The Queens robbery suspect was last seen with a Yankees cap on his head.
But Yankees caps and clothing have dominated the crime blotter for so long, in so many parts of the city and in so many types of offenses, that it defies an easy explanation. Criminologists, sports marketing analysts, consumer psychologists and Yankees fans have developed their own theories, with some attributing the trend to the popularity of the caps among gangsta rappers and others wondering whether criminals are identifying with the team’s aura of money, power and success.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
As a long-time Red Sox fan, I am not surprised.
If you see someone wearing a Yankees cap, just shoot first and ask questions later.
Thanks, Captain Obvious.
I always knew Steinbrenner was a crook...they’re just following the boss.
Even Red Sox fans recognize that Steinbrenner was a decent and generous man, who was passionate about baseball and restored a great American institution that had become a laughingstock under CBS' management. His legal problems stem from his donations to the Nixon campaign, something that probably shouldn't even be a crime. (Reagan pardoned him.)
But Yankees caps and clothing have dominated the crime blotter for so long, in so many parts of the city and in so many types of offenses, that it defies an easy explanation.
It does seem to me that the Yankees acquired a certain panache as a "black" team. They are located in the ultimate inner city neighborhood (though it's mostly Hispanic, it's where Manny Ramirez grew up.) No real mystery.
It seems professional baseball and football have a large thuggee component. Your typical NFL player looks like a stupid moron immersed in a herd mentality of tats and moronic cliches. Baseball isn’t far behind. I watched the U.S. Tennis Open and spotted nary a thug. Ditto, golf. No eveidence of scum there. Football and baseball have that market to themselves.
In NYC, would describing someone as having a Yankees cap be like describing a car as having New York plates?
Ouch! I was HIT by that pitch! No I’m NOT faking. I’m Derek Cheater, and I always tell the truth and do the right thing! Oh, this Yankee hat???? Oh, I only wear that when I’m robbing someone!
On the West coast, they’d be wearing a Raiders cap...
My memory might be a little foggy on this but wasn’t he involved in a bribery scandal with his shipyard in Tampa.
There’s nothing about it in his Wikipedia bio. I liked the Boss and the effect he had on baseball. The Yankees were pathetic for a decade, he made them winners again. The Yankees’ decline was often cited (in the New York Times, for instance) as a metaphor for the decline of America. Guess what? Decline is a choice, getting free of CBS saved the Yankees and will definitely help America.
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