Being a sports fan can be an interesting experience. Some of us get so worked up depending on whether our team wins or loses — something that is entirely out of our control. When they win, we feel great. When they lose, we feel terrible.
In the scheme of things, does the result of a sporting event really matter? Sports are supposed to be about entertainment and providing an escape from the stressors of reality. Yet some fans get even more stressed if their team is struggling.
Fandom truly is a one-of-a-kind experience, and it takes a true fan to understand. It’s all about allegiance, loyalty, support, hope, and sometimes misery that unite a team’s fanbase against any foe.
So how do you describe this scenario: You’re a Brooklyn Dodgers fan in the late 1950s, and all of a sudden, the team you’ve passionately rooted for just packs up and leaves to head out west to Los Angeles. In a word: devastating.
So, what do you do? The New York Giants left at the same time, so even if you wanted to stick to following a local National League team, you couldn’t. In reality, you only had two choices: completely disregard baseball altogether or do the unthinkable — switch over to the “Dark Side” and root for the hated rival New York Yankees.
For some background, the Yankees were a thorn in the Dodgers’ side throughout the ’40s and ’50s. Starting in 1941, the teams met seven times in the Fall Classic before the move. The Dodgers only won once in 1955. What a conundrum, right? Well, it’s a conundrum that many Brooklyn families — including the Julianos — faced.
Three generations of “William Juliano” have loved baseball. William “Bill” Juliano was an immigrant who settled in Brooklyn to become a Dodgers fan and later a New York Mets fan in 1962. His son, William “Wally” Juliano, wound up following the Dodgers once “Dem Bums” moved. Wally’s son, William “Willy” Juliano, is a Yankee fan.
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“When the Dodgers left, my grandfather [Bill] swore off baseball,” said Willy Juliano, 49, a parishioner at Good Shepherd, Marine Park. “He wasn’t going to root for the Yankees, and there was no more National League team. When the Mets came, he jumped right back in.”
Meanwhile, Willy’s father, Wally, became a huge fan of Sandy Koufax, who began his career in Brooklyn but rose to fame during his time in Los Angeles. Even when the Dodgers moved, Wally, who as a younger child hadn’t developed the same passionate fandom as his father, stuck with Koufax, known as the “Left Arm of God” for obvious reasons. It’s amazing how one player changed the family’s rooting trajectory. “If not for Sandy Koufax, my father would have probably become a Mets fan just like his father became,” Willy said.
Though challenging to follow a team across the country, Wally did so through newspaper box scores and the occasional Game of the Week TV viewing. His son Willy took a different route and latched on to the Yankees thanks to the influence of his maternal grandfather, John Agliardi.
Agliardi, who was born in Manhattan and moved to Brooklyn, became a Yankees fan in the days of the legends: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Earle Combs, Tony Lazzeri. Every season, he attended the giveaway promotional days and always made sure to have an extra souvenir for his grandson.
As a 9-year-old in 1985, Willy fell in love with the Yankees. Since then, he’s experienced the ultimate thrill of seeing a constant winner, especially the memorable dynasty of the late 1990s.
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“He [Willy] knows more about the Yankees than anybody else I’ve met in my life,” said Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Raymond Chappetto, who was the pastor at Our Lady of Miracles, Canarsie, where Willy was an altar boy and attended school.
Bishop Ray was Willy’s confirmation sponsor, so when young Willy was on the altar to be confirmed, he struck up a conversation with the presiding bishop about the Yankees. Every other confirmation recipient had their 10-second blessing, while Willy wound up having a minute-long conversation on the altar about his beloved Yanks.
“It’s become a defining personality trait, the fact that I’m a Yankee fan, even intruding on a sacrament,” said Willy, who also worked at the Our Lady of Miracles rectory. Before each season, Willy is a spirited guest at the Good Shepherd Baseball Bash, hosted there by pastor emeritus Father Jim Devlin. Each season, Willy always has an opinionated yet educated take on his Yankees.
Baseball is an everyday sport. Only the most passionate fans can stick by their team throughout the long slog of the season. For four decades, Willy has rarely missed a game. “To be a real fan, there has to be some irrational level of dedication to the team that you acquired at a time when you were not necessarily cognizant of it,” he said. “It almost has to be a learned behavior to develop that innate fandom. I couldn’t fathom just switching teams.”
Luckily for Willy, he’s never had to even think about it, since the Yankees aren’t going anywhere soon. However, a whole generation of Brooklyn Dodger fans was presented with this dilemma, which has been responsible for shaping the baseball fandom of future generations.
Seriously, what would you do?