George Steinbrenner, King of New York

I woke up this morning and turned on Channel 12 news, turned on my laptop, checked my email.  I logged onto facebook to see if there were any new awesomely awesome posts to share on I don't just "Like it", I "LOVE IT"!!! and was saddened when the Breaking News hit.  George Stienbrenner, Owner of the New York Yankees, dead at 80 of an apparent Massive Heart Attack.  I immediately started to post this as my status update.  By the time I hit enter, there were several statuses delivering the news as well.  I'm not a sports fan and baseball isn't my thing, but I believe in teamwork and sportsmanship, and I could tell from all the facebook posts that George Steinbrenner's death impacted people.  I came downstairs and saw my son sleeping on the sofa, woke him up (on purpose) and told him the news.  He shot up and said "OH NOOOOO"!  and I did a double take because I wasn't sure if my 20 year old was pulling my leg or not.  What I saw in my son's eyes was real and in that moment I was beginning to understand how "BIG" George Steinbrenner's death was as well.  He immediately turned on the TV and I watched his face when ESPN confirmed what I already told him.  I never knew he was such a baseball fan and I asked him why is that?  He told me he's not really a fan of baseball, he's a fan of "The Boss", George Steinbrenner.

I don't need to write a bio and incorporate dozens of little factoids about this man on my blog that I'd be studying while I type because that's not what I don't just "Like it", I "LOVE IT"!!! is really about.  Had I developed an interest in all things baseball and more importantly the NY Yankees, who I route for when the Mets aren't in contention, then this would be an entirely different read and besides, I'm not that disingenuous!  ;-)  .  I will say that the man was pretty impressive.  When George Steinbrenner, along with several other investors, purchased the Yankees in the 70's for a little under 10 million dollars from CBS, the man knew what he was doing!  He was, arguably, the smartest man in ownership history, with an understanding of how important the media/television industry was and how to use it to his organizations advantage.  During the past three years however, his health had begun to deteriorate and he relinquished control of the Yankees to his sons Hal and Hank.   I'll sum it up with this quote from I don't just "Like it", I "LOVE IT"!!!
Be well...

RIP to George Steinbrenner! I became a Yankees fan in 76 right when he restored them back to prominence. I hated him as an owner for while, but my feelings changed cuz in the end he made the Yankees great again. He was a hard ass, but he was smart & humble enough to evolve to do what was best. Take lessons Dan Gilbert, & Al Davis. He wasn't perfect, but he did it right. Marc Howard