by Paul Semendinger
March 15, 2024
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I have been writing (almost) daily posts and talking (almost daily) with Yankees fans and baseball fans here at Start Spreading the News since October 2017. We've been at this for a long time. We've had close to 10,000 articles published and have had millions and millions of page views. In total there have been tens of thousands of comments on the site.
Over the years, I have heard a host of myths about the Yankees. This article begins a new series where I prove that certain myths are untrue.
Today, I'll start with the myth that Yankees fans will only support teams that win championships. ("Yankees fans won't support a rebuild.")
This myth is false and is easily proved false with simple facts. To do this I'll begin in 1995, the year before the Yankees won their first World Series in almost two decades and the first season after the strike that cancelled the World Series. (Note on the following list, Yankees World Championship years are bolded.)
Source - The Baseball Cube
1995 Yankees - 14th in MLB Attendance (1,709,199)
1996 Yankees - 11th in MLB Attendance (2,255,051)
1997 Yankees - 10th in MLB Attendance (2,581,043)
1998 Yankees - 8th in MLB Attendance (2,949,734)
1999 Yankees - 4th in MLB Attendance (3,293,259)
2000 Yankees - 7th in MLB Attendance (3,227,657)
2001 Yankees - 3rd in MLB Attendance (3,264,847)
2002 Yankees - 2nd in MLB Attendance (3,465,807)
2003 Yankees - 1st in MLB Attendance (3,460,600)
2004 Yankees - 1st in MLB Attendance (3,775,292)
2005 Yankees - 1st in MLB Attendance (4,090,440)
2006 Yankees - 1st in MLB Attendance (4,247,980)
2007 Yankees - 1st in MLB Attendance (4,271,867)
2008 Yankees - 1st in MLB Attendance (4,298,655)
2009 Yankees - 2nd in MLB Attendance (3,718,358) - Note- New Stadium
2010 Yankees - 1st in MLB Attendance (3,765,807)
2011 Yankees - 2nd in MLB Attendance (3,653,680)
2012 Yankees - 2nd in MLB Attendance (3,542,406)
2013 Yankees - 4th in MLB Attendance (3,279,589)
2014 Yankees - 3rd in MLB Attendance (3,401,624)
2015 Yankees - 4th in MLB Attendance (3,193,795)
2016 Yankees - 6th in MLB Attendance (3,063,405)
2017 Yankees - 6th in MLB Attendance (3,146,966)
2018 Yankees - 2nd in MLB Attendance (3,482,855)
2019 Yankees - 3rd in MLB Attendance (3,304,404)
2020 Yankees - Not Applicable (No attendance - Covid)
2021 Yankees - 8th in MLB Attendance (1,959,854)
2022 Yankees - 3rd in MLB Attendance (3,136,207)
2023 Yankees - 3rd in MLB Attendance (3,269,016)
This list shows, clearly, that the Yankees have been, consistently, one of the teams that draws the most fans year-in and year-out. The numbers speak for themselves.
The Yankees have not won a World Series since 2009 and yet the fans still support the team. Period.
Case closed.
Myth destroyed.
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