And here we go again. I wrote an article yesterday on Jeter’s video and letter to fans. Touching, on the brink of tears type stuff, especially for us New Yorkers. I don’t wanna do too much overlap, but goddam is it possible to make a bad Derek Jeter commercial? Literally, every single one is an Oscar-worthy emotional roller coaster. Yes, I’m sure the huge budgets of Nike, Gatorade, and Budweiser help, but I’ve seen a lot more money produce a lot less.
I sit and watch flashes of major moments in my childhood play back in front of me. The nostalgia is unreal. I’ve realized something though, when I watch these it’s not only a sense of nostalgia but it’s almost a sense of pride. He’s a New Yorker, he’s one of us and look at the effect he’s had on everyone and the game of baseball.
This sense of pride New Yorkers have with Derek Jeter is always the focus of these commercials. That’s the reason these commercials and videos are all so great because that’s what his career was all about. His deep connection with the city and the fans. Budweiser shows that in a perfect way, the simple changing of the #2. Everyone in the city knows what it represents. No name or picture required. The Yankee way. You don’t need to be reminded who the Yankees were. You knew because they were the New York Yankees. Jeter is engrained in New York, part of the fabric of the city for over two decades. He occupied the most famous position in the whole city, the shortstop for the New York Yankees. As Jeter said it himself, “There’s only one of those”
New York has changed entirely since 1995. The city that never sleeps is also that city that never stops changing. People always move, stores closed, bars and restaurants changed owners or locations, but there was always one constant.
Derek Jeter
