Even before I liked the Yankees, even when I still cheered my beloved Baltimore Orioles, I knew that for someone who lived in New York, it was important for the Yankees to win. 
Their success changed the psyche of the city. People here are happy if the Mets, Giants or Jets win, and a certain small subset is delirious if the Rangers win, and a lot of people are happy if the Knicks win. But a successful Yankee team is essential to the city’s sense of itself. It’s the same with Wall Street. It’s good when the big boys do well.
The Yanks haven’t won a World Series since 2000. I was most upset when the team didn’t win in 2001, after 9/11, after coming back in three immortal games in Yankee Stadium, after taking the lead against the valiant Curt Schilling and us having the great Mariano Rivera on the mound for the ninth. Oh well. Since then, things haven’t gone well. A lousy loss in the 2003 World Series to the Marlins (and after having knocked off the Red Sox in a magnificent seventh game); allowing the Red Sox to come back from a 3-0 deficit to eliminate us in 2004; eliminated by the Cleveland bugs in 2007. Too many games with Randy Johnson and Kevin Brown.
But this year’s group looks good, and they got off to a good start in Game One against the plucky Twins, winning 7-2. C.C. Sabathia pitched like an ace, the bullpen pitched like firemen, Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui hit two-run homers, and even Alex Rodriguez, haunted by previous playoff failures, had two hits and two RBIs. An excellent beginning. One down, ten to go.