A lesson from the Yankees

It's bigger than IU/Purdue, UNC/Duke or UK/Louisville. It's bigger than Cowboys/49ers, Steelers/Browns or even Bears/Packers. It is the most storied rivalry in sports -- and it just got better. Welcome to the 2004 edition of the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry.\nDespite the disgruntled look on my face in the accompanying picture with this column, I haven't stopped smiling since the Alex Rodriguez deal went public. As a matter of fact, I haven't been this excited about baseball since Aaron (Boston-accented expletive deleted) Boone ended the ALCS for the Red Sox. The moment that ball went out was one of the best moments of my life as a sports fan.\nYes, with the blockbuster trade, the rich got richer. But Boston had its shot, and there are several other teams (including the famously cheap Chicago Cubs) who could have made a move on A-Rod. They didn't, and because of the "luxury tax," the Yankees pay, other teams will still reap financial benefits from profit-sharing. (Living off the rich, hmm. Sounds familiar.) \nOf course, "the Yankees buy championships" is a common criticism. Well, when one is in the business of reaping and sowing financial reward for athletic excellence, anyone who wins in professional sports does the same thing. (At least they have the decency to pay their players, ahem.) \nHerman Edwards, head coach of the NFL's New York Jets, put the crux of my argument into a syncopated elegance print does little justice for -- "You play to win the game." The Yankees, using the resources at their disposal well within the established rules, do exactly that. \nSetting and maintaining a standard of excellence is bound to rub many people the wrong way -- envy does that. But if the Cubs or Red Sox began winning championship after championship (which they are both in a legitimate position to do), their fans would stop crying foul rather quickly.\nSo why is this on the opinion page and not the sports page? Because standards of excellence go well beyond the playing field.\nIn this time, where so many institutions, public and private, seek universal inclusion and adopt cheesy slogans like "Everybody is a winner," excellence is becoming an endangered value. From lowered academic standards in schools to reduced physical requirements for female soldiers and firefighters, the acceptance of lower-quality performance is rotting America in the name of "fairness." \nFairness is not about making everyone feel good about themselves -- it is about giving everyone an opportunity to prove themselves against a common standard and rewarding those who meet and exceed that standard. \nThe Yankees play by the rules, enforce a code of professional conduct and win. And they don't just win -- they sustain the most successful and storied franchise in all of professional sports. They are the envy of the baseball world -- and rightfully so. \n Any person or business should emulate these characteristics instead of whining about losing. It is every person's responsibility to do everything in their power -- within the rules -- to achieve whatever goals they wish to attain. Such is the true essence of fairness.\n Losing is the greatest motivation in sports, and in life. Blaming the winners for winning achieves nothing. \nWithout life's winners, there would be no one to beat -- nothing great to aspire to, nothing to achieve and nothing to look forward to. Not everyone will win, but in the pursuit of winning, most -- if not all -- will improve. \n Competition, epitomized in this greatest rivalry in sports, is the key to the betterment of mankind, and the winners make it happen. \nGo Yankees.