Even in death, The Boss commands respect.
Fans who loved longtime Yankees owner George Steinbrenner — as well as those who loved to hate him — flocked to mourn him today as news spread of his passing at 80.
At Yankee Stadium, flowers and cards were left as modest makeshift memorials by Bombers faithful who trekked to The Bronx in the middle of the workday despite the rain.
FANS REMEMBER GEORGE STEINBRENNER
MOMENT OF SILENCE MARKS BEGINNING OF ALL-STAR GAME
PHOTOS: THE BOSS THROUGH THE YEARS
GEORGE STEINBRENNER DEAD AT 80
“It’s very sad, almost like a family member has passed away,” said Steve Campo, 42, who took the subway from his sales job in Midtown. “Thirty-five years of great memories. What his legacy is going to leave is bringing the Yankees back to prominence.”
Another fan who had driven from Midtown jumped out of his car to place a photo of himself at 7 at Yankee Stadium before speeding off.
Danny Taveras, 22, dressed in full Yankees garb, was there to take in memories.
“The Yankees took a major blow today,” Taveras said. “Now we’ve got to win the World Series for him.”
Memorabilia linked to Steinbrenner, whose iron-fist grip helped mold the Yankees into a championship-winning dynasty, was already being snatched up online and in stores.
At the Yankees store in Times Square this afternoon, a fan already phoned in to reserve a Steinbrenner-autographed baseball for $400.
Even those who were less than fans of the Bombers and the Boss paid their respects.
Seth Meyerowitz, founder of one of more than 30 “R.I.P. George Steinbrenner” Facebook groups that had popped up by midday, admitted he admired Steinbrenner despite rooting for a rival.
“I’m actually a Mets fan, but obviously, George Steinbrenner had a huge effect on New York baseball in general,” said Meyerowitz, 26, of Merrick. “I hate that he’s done so well that the Yankees have continued to win, but that’s just a jealous Mets fan talking.”
On Twitter, supporters of the Yankees-loathing Red Sox echoed the sentiment.
“As a Red Sox fan I spent years cursing George Steinbrenner’s spending and appetite for winning, all the while admiring him. RIP to The Boss,” one person tweeted.
Many found a creative way to honor the late Steinbrenner: Eat an eggplant calzone, one like tThe Boss’ character demanded of George Costanza on “Seinfeld.”
“I’m sure he is eating a calzone up in heaven while cheering on the Yankees,” one woman wrote on Facebook.
Jeff McDonnell, 31, a die-hard Yankees fan from Staten Island, asked that in the end, fans remember that Steinbrenner, for all his triumphs and failures, was human.
“He was not perfect, but he was perfect for New York.”
Additional reporting by Reuven Fenton, Amanda Melillo, Perry Chiaramonte and Doug Auer