ARCHIVES OF THE MAYOR'S WEEKLY COLUMN Archives of Rudolph W. Giuliani

New York: City of Champions

This has been the kind of month that makes you feel truly blessed to live in New York, the greatest and most exciting city in the world.

Last Thursday, the New York Yankees won the World Series in Game Five with ninth-inning dramatics at the stroke of midnight. And on Monday, New York celebrated with one of the City's biggest, best, and most thrilling parades up the Canyon of Heroes.

Yankee victory parades seem to have become a rite of autumn in this town the past few years, but this one was extra special because it marked the culmination of the city's first Subway Series in 44 years.

The National League Champion Mets put on a tremendous performance, pushing the Bombers to the limit in just about every game, right down to the last one, when Mike Piazza ripped a fly ball to deep center that could have tied the game in the ninth inning -- except for Bernie Williams' thrilling catch just short of the warning track. The Amazin's played the Yankees out for out, pitch for pitch, so we couldn't have asked for more from the Subway Series. These teams played their hearts out.

The Bombers have now won the World Series four out of five years, and each time they find a new way to win. In 1996, they were the underdogs to the favored Atlanta Braves. They beat the Braves after losing the first two games at home, and then in 1998 they posted one of the most dominant seasons in baseball history with a total record of 125 wins and 50 losses. Last year they were again a very strong team, and actually were even stronger in the playoffs.

This year they occasionally struggled during the regular season, particularly during the last month. So they came into the playoffs with baseball experts doubting whether they could repeat, "threepeat," or even get through the first round with Oakland. Those doubts were resolved in the playoffs and the World Series where they played like champs. You don't count out champions.

When I ran for Mayor in 1993, I made a campaign promise to bring another Subway Series to New York City. I was kidding, of course. Then in recent years, as the Yankees started to become dominant and as the Mets started to get much better, I would say that the one promise I hadn't fulfilled was a Subway Series. Well, now we've fulfilled it. And I'm glad the people of this city, many of whom were too young to experience the last Subway Series in the 1950s, have now had the experience I had as a child. And I know they'll never forget it.

We're very proud of the Yankees and the Mets, and very happy that New York got this great Subway Series. Our hope and prayer is that we can repeat the whole thing next year -- give the Mets a chance to beat the Yankees next year, give the Bombers a chance to win four World Series in a row, and maybe next year it'll go to six or seven games.

The 2000 Subway Series was a fitting symbol of the process of renewal that our City has undergone over the past seven years. The pride is back, and our City's tradition of excellence has been restored. Everyone in this City - supporters of each of our two champion teams - can once again unite under one banner, because we all live in the baseball capital of the world, and we are all proud to call ourselves New Yorkers.