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Hosts with the most

Ken Davidoff

July 13, 2008

The idea for this column emanated from years of traveling to previous All-Star Games. From seeing how people in Houston and Detroit, Pittsburgh and San Francisco fretted about what I and every other visitor thought of them, and their city, and their ballpark.

From saying to myself, "If the All-Star Game ever came to New York, I wouldn't give a New York City Subway-inhabiting rat's you-know-what about what outsiders think. I mean, you couldn't pay me to take on such a responsibility."

So with that in mind, if anyone reading this is from out of town, welcome to the 2008 All-Star Game! I hope you have a great time.

But if you don't, that's your problem.

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"We assume that you're going to like it, because we like it," actor Chazz Palminteri, a native New Yorker, agreed with Newsday in a telephone interview. "New York is a beast of its own. You either love it or it's not for you."

When I suggested to another New York product, Regis Philbin, that we New Yorkers wouldn't get all worked up about hosting a silly little All-Star Game, that such a mentality might even indicate that we are arrogant and obnoxious, the talk-show legend responded, "We are! You know that! It comes with the territory! If you're not when you get there, you will be, soon enough!"

(If we didn't have exclamation points before Regis, we would've had to invent them for Regis!)

We New Yorkers are just different. It's that "been there, done that" mentality. Sure, an All-Star Game and the surrounding hype are fun, and we'll enjoy it. But we won't lather ourselves in it and regard it as a reflection of who we are. Not when we've got Fashion Week and the Tony Awards and the U.S. Open and ...

Alex Rodriguez doesn't want to participate in the Home Run Derby? Who cares? Bud Selig and the Major League Baseball people do, understandably. But the rest of us? Whatever. No matter who's competing, the Derby is an over-hyped, underwhelming event that functions best as a lead-in to a night on the town.

The game itself should be a blast, especially with the pre-game ceremony involving all of the Hall of Fame players. But again, who's making who here? Is the presence of the All-Star Game boosting Yankee Stadium's image? Or is the Yankee Stadium setting helping the Midsummer Classic's image?

"It's really going to be special," said Palminteri, who not only starred in but wrote "A Bronx Tale" and is narrating an ESPN retrospective on the Stadium. "If I was a player and I played my first All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, it's something I wouldn't forget."

"I think it's a wonderful idea, and well deserved," said Philbin, who will attend the game. "Without the Yankees, baseball wouldn't be baseball. New York is the media capital of the world. They all want to beat the Yankees."

The Yankees have worked very hard on this project dating to last year, when a large segment of the front office went to San Francisco to see the Giants run the 2007 All-Star Game. In previous seasons, however, you couldn't find a non-uniformed Yankees employee at one of these had you conducted a citywide search.

George Steinbrenner, who typifies Regis' "if you're not when you get there, you will be!" analysis, had no use for the All-Star Game back in his prime. While the game took a deep breath and celebrated its star power, The Boss ordered everyone to the team's Tampa compound, where they discussed great ideas like trading for Armando Benitez.

These are the new Yankees, however, and despite their third-place standing, they'll allow themselves to focus on an endeavor that has only tangential relevance (the World Series home-field advantage) to their greater mission.

It's the same New York, though. It's really nice to have everyone here, and don't get us wrong; we'll be good hosts. But worry about what you think of us? I don't think so.

If you have fun, please come again. If you don't, then don't blame us.

We're the best, we know it, and we'll say it over and over again. Besides the possibility of eternal damnation, how could we go wrong with this mentality?