By Kelly Kultys
On Thursday, Sept. 25th, Yankee fans around the world cried, cheered and celebrated for their Captain’s last home game. The 48,613 in attendance witnessed the perfect ending to a seemingly perfect career before giving Derek Jeter the proper send-off — a simple, fitting chant: “Thank you, Jeter.”
With today’s world of sports plagued by turmoil, this sentiment couldn’t be more appropriate. In a day and age when athletes come loaded with baggage, where our legends have asterisks next to their
records, when we spend more time talking about the off-the-field drama rather than on-the-field play – thank you Jeter for never getting involved in the nonsense.
Thank you, Jeter, for showing us that you can have a good time and still stay away from the infamous back pages. If you’ve ever seen the commercial with George Steinbrenner and Derek Jeter, you know that the Yankee owner was worried about his shortstop’s partying ways. It wasn’t as if Derek Jeter didn’t enjoy a good time — a look at his illustrious dating history will show you otherwise, but he never let that define him. He never had his “good times” captured on camera. He never seemed to treat women poorly. There were no elevator videos of Derek and Mariah or allegations that required law enforcement action.
So thank you Jeter, for treating people right. Thank you for being a star people can admire. Right now, one of the faces of the NFL is known as a prolific running back and child abuser. Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner was accused of sexual assault. A 5-time NBA Champion might be better known for being accused of sexual assault. Even one of the young stars of European soccer is known better for biting a human than being the 2013-2014 leading scorer in the Premier League.
Thank you, Jeter, for having enough respect for the game to not cheat. Thank you for being able to accurately say, “I know there are a lot of players that have had much more talent throughout my career, but I can honestly say that I don’t think anyone played harder. Maybe as hard, but not harder.” Thank you for not taking steroids or visiting the Biogenesis Clinic or trying to outsmart the game.
Thank you Jeter, for not abandoning your friends and teammates when they did turn to drugs. You showed us that people can make some horrific decisions, but that it doesn’t mean you have to abandon them. A-Rod, Andy Pettite and many others hopefully appreciate the fact that you didn’t turn your back on them — you stood by them.
Thank you, Jeter, for always giving back to the fans for the last 20 years. Thank you for making them a part of your history. But most of all, thank you for being a hero in a time when sports needed one the most.