Logo retrofit

Having grown up outside of Boston, I’m a die-hard fan of the Boston sports teams.

Except for the Red Sox, of course.

When it comes to baseball, I’m a Yankees fan.

I fell in love with the Yankees in 1984. My stepfather and brother were Red Sox fans, but being a contrarian who didn’t exactly get along with either one of them, I began turning television to channel 11 out of New York whenever possible, which was broadcasting the Yankees games on WPIX.

It began as a simple attempt to annoy my family members, but while watching players like Don Mattingly, Willie Randolph, Ricky Henderson, Dave Winfield, and Ron Guidry, I quickly fell in love.

It wasn’t easy being a Yankees fan in the Boston area. Not only is the area filled with rabid Red Sox fans, but sports in Boston is life. I once explained to Elysha that in Boston, the workday is simply the means by which people kill time between sporting events.

It’s an exaggeration, but not by much.

So walking around the Boston area, or almost anywhere in Massachusetts, wearing the hat of the most hated team in Boston sports history, was rough, but it also suited me. Conflict, confrontation, and contrarianism are some of my favorite things.

On Sunday, as Elysha and I ascended the ramps at Gillette Stadium to watch the Patriots defeat the Lions 29-0, I saw someone wearing a sweatshirt with this logo.

Clever. The logos of the Celtics, Bruins, Patriots, and Red Sox, all wrapped in one.

I asked Elysha about the chances of this same logo existing with the Yankees interlocking NY in place of the Red Sox logo. It was a dumb question, of course. If a store even attempted to sell an item of clothing with such a label anywhere in Massachusetts, it would probably be burned to the ground.

But wouldn’t it be great to own one?

A combination of shock and sacrilege that would prompt a level of conversation, controversy, and conflict that I adore.