Confessions of a She-Fan : The Course of True Love with the New York Yankees

Two months into the 2007 baseball season, novelist and die-hard Yankee fan Jane Heller, heartsick over her team's poor play, announced her intention to divorce the Bronx Bombers, on grounds of mental cruelty, in the pages of the New York Times . Her words inflamed the passions of sports lovers everywhere, and her piece quickly became the newspaper's most e-mailed and talked-about article in the week it ran. Intense reactions from readers forced Heller to look inward and reexamine her feelings about winning and losing. Was she really a "bandwagon fan," as some had branded her? Was she "entitled" and "spoiled"? In search of answers, Heller recruited her husband to join her on a cross-country journey, following her beloved Yankees to every game for the rest of the season. She hoped to score interviews with players along the way, but she was also eager to rejuvenate her marriage and prove she was not a bandwagon wife. In this witty, observant memoir, Heller ventures into... Two months into the 2007 baseball season, novelist Jane Heller, an obsessed Yankee fan heartsick over their poor play, announced her intention to divorce the team, on grounds of mental cruelty, in the pages of the New York Times . Her words inflamed the passions of sports lovers across the country, and her piece quickly became the newspaper's most e-mailed and talked-about article in the week it ran. The intense reaction of fans forced Heller to look inward, and to re-examine her feelings about winning and losing. Was she a "bandwagon" fan, as some branded her? A traitor? Confessions of a She-Fan is a witty, observant, and decidedly female look at the nature of the bond between fan and team. Jane Heller goes in search of answers. With her husband as her traveling partner, she literally follows the Bronx Bombers through the rest of their challenging 2007 season, hoping to score interviews with the players, watch every game in every city, and inject some excitement into her marriage. Through interactions with other fans, as well as members of the media covering the Yankees, plus game-by-game analyses, Heller learns personal life lessons about competition, loyalty, and acceptanceand about why baseball, like any truly romantic relationship, requires commitment, patience, and a deep, abiding love.

Two months into the 2007 baseball season, novelist Jane Heller, an obsessed Yankee fan heartsick over their poor play, announced her intention to divorce the team, on grounds of mental cruelty, in the pages of the New York Times. Her words inflamed the passions of sports lovers across the country, and her piece quickly became the newspaper’s most e-mailed and talked-about article in the week it ran. The intense reaction of fans forced Heller to look inward, and to re-examine her feelings about winning and losing. Was she a “bandwagon” fan, as some branded her? A traitor? In this witty, observant, and decidedly female look at the nature of the bond between fan and team, Jane Heller goes in search of answers. With her husband as her traveling partner, she literally follows the Bronx Bombers through the rest of their challenging 2007 season, hoping to score interviews with the players, watch every game in every city, and inject some excitement into her marriage. Through interactions with other fans, as well as members of the media covering the Yankees, plus game-by-game analyses, Heller learns personal life lessons about competition, loyalty, and acceptance—and about why baseball, like any truly romantic relationship, requires commitment, patience, and a deep, abiding love.

The author of Princess Charming describes the incendiary New York Times article in which she denounced the Yankees for their poor performance and incited tremendous public backlash, a response that prompted her to follow the team throughout a season and explore the natures of competition, loyalty, and acceptance