The double life of a Yankees fan
``It is a mark of separation, and that is why it makes other people from outside the community feel uncomfortable." -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on Muslim women who wear veils
TONY BLAIR is a wise man. This debate has been percolating since the early 1900s, and it's time for us, as a society, to do the right thing. Personally, I stopped wearing my Yankees hat five years ago, at the end of the latest ``dynasty."
Don't get me wrong, I am as devout a Yankees fan as the next guy from New York -- except for Rudy Giuliani, who still wears a Yankees hat (but that might be because he's bald). When I wear it, I see how uncomfortable everyone else gets. Even when I'm traveling, I see it: the awkward stares, the heckling, the taunts, the half-finished beers dumped on me .
We loyal Yankees fans should not put ourselves or the rest of our society through that. In the United States, there are 10 million, maybe 20 million Yankees fans. There are probably another 20 million baseball atheists. That leaves well over 260 million Yankee-haters. Why should they have to feel awkward every time I walk down the street?
Yankee hatred aside, there are at least three other reasons Yankees fans should refrain from wearing Yankees hats in public. First, it conceals identities -- by hiding baldness. How can someone relate to you if he doesn't know how much hair you have? Second, it creates general confusion about our loyalties, for everyone knows that Yankees hats are mostly worn by fair-weather fans. Most of the hats are too new to have John Wetteland-style sweat stains on the brim. Most of the wearers don't even know who John Wetteland is, and that's just not right. Third, it makes it harder for non-hat-wearing Yankees fans to assimilate into society.
Every time the issue comes up, I awkwardly look at my feet and have to explain that I'm not one of the crazy Yankees fans. In public, I acknowledge the four truths of socially acceptable baseball fans: the Yankees spend too much money, they haven't been to the World Series in three years, A-Rod is not clutch, and Derek Jeter is overrated. Only then do tensions ease and regular conversations resume.
In these Yankee-hating times, it's up to Yankees fans to broach this unsettling topic. In private, among our own, we can speak freely about the Yankees' success, Derek Jeter's intangibles, and Joe Torre's wisdom. We can even break out our hats. However, in public, we must put our hats away, keep our loyalties to ourselves, and always speak the four truths. Only then can we truly be integrated into society.
Michael Luca is a Yankees fan and a Ph.D. student in economics at Boston University. 
