TAMPA – Hank Steinbrenner says he isn’t adding gasoline to the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry by saying the Red Sox take a backseat to his team when it comes to marketing their brand.
“You can’t create any controversy with fact,” Steinbrenner said last night when reached for his reaction to an upcoming magazine story. “You can ask any marketing expert who is the No. 1 brand of any team in any sport in the country, and it’s the Yankees. We are the No. 1 brand in the country.”
In the article, Steinbrenner accuses ESPN as being an accomplice to spreading the “Red Sox Nation” propaganda because ESPN is “filled with Red Sox fans.”
Last night Steinbrenner was a tad contrite.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have said that about ESPN because I watch ESPN in the morning like everybody else,” Steinbrenner said. “I like ESPN.”
Still, it’s very clear what team stands above the other when it comes to selling its brand.
“It’s Yankees Nation,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s certainly not Red Sox Nation. I am not ripping on the Red Sox because they are doing a good job developing their brand, but everybody knows the Yankees are the top brand.”
Those words are sure to infuriate Red Sox fans who believe the sun rises and sets with their beloved Bosox. They think, and rightfully so, that their team (the defending World Series champions) is the best team in baseball. They also believe they are superior to any other fan base in baseball.
Steinbrenner is quoted in the magazine story with some harsh words and last night he didn’t back down from them.
“I said it and I don’t think it’s controversial,” he said. “The media might make it controversial to sell papers, but it’s fact.”
“Red Sox Nation? What a bunch of [nonsense] that is,” Steinbrenner said in the magazine interview. “That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans. Go anywhere in America and you won’t see Red Sox hats and jackets, you’ll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We’re going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.”
Steinbrenner, who became the public face of the Yankees’ last fall when his legendary father, George, stepped into the background, says the organization required somebody out front.
“Everyone was hiding in their rooms. You can’t do that and be a leader. You have to step up and take a position,” Steinbrenner said.