"Darth Vader is cool as f*ck" - Dan Soder, Paul Virzi hail Yankees embracing 'Evil Empire' tag in MLB unlike the Chiefs in NFL
The New York Yankees are the most successful MLB team in history with 27 World Series wins, 16 more than the second-placed St. Louis Cardinals. Due to their dominance, they sometimes get the tag of the big bad villains of baseball, similar to the Galactic Empire, often called the Evil Empire, from the Star Wars film franchise.
Comedians Dan Soder and Paul Virzi recently talked about the fan hate teams often get due to dominance and the Yankees came into the discussion. The comedians criticized Kansas City Chiefs fans, who they felt were reserved when defending their team.
"The thing with Yankees fans, where they're like, that's the fun part about them. When you're gonna be, be a big bad. Like If you're going to be the villain, be a villain," said Soder on '6th Grade Spitballs' on Wednesday [8:42].
Soder believes dominant teams attract hate from fans and the best way for the fans of the dominant team to respond is by embracing the hate, thus becoming the big bad villain. He hailed the New England Patriots, who were unapologetically confident when they had Tom Brady, contrasting to what the Kansas City Chiefs are like now.
"The greatest thing Yankee Stadium ever put out there was The Empire Strikes Back. It was like the fans saying, 'We are the Evil Empire. We're Darth Vader, and we're coming back,'" Virzi said [8:52].
Virzi was skeptical when the Yankees adopted the big bad persona but quickly found the decision genius. For Soder, the decision was a no-brainer and he had a wonderful reason why.
"You know why? Darth Vader is cool as f*ck," Soder said [9:13].
Darth Vader is one of cinema’s most iconic villains. In the original Star Wars trilogy, David Prowse physically portrayed Vader, voiced by James Earl Jones, embodying a menacing form of evil.
The prequel trilogy explored his transformation, with Hayden Christensen portraying Anakin Skywalker, the man who would become Vader. Christensen later reprised the role in subsequent live-action series.
Dan Soder's friend Shane Gillis, a fellow comedian, met Yankees captain Aaron Judge
Shane Gillis is a diehard fan of Philadelphia sports teams. As such, when the Yankees faced the Phillies in the regular season in August, Gillis happened to link up with Aaron Judge and they took a picture together.
Gillis was awestruck after meeting the Yankees captain, evidenced by his detailing the interaction on his podcast, "Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast."
"I saw Aaron Judge," Gillis said. "He's huge. He's the best, probably the best player in baseball. [1:07.07]
“That was the most nervous I've been meeting someone I couldn't believe how star-struck I was," Gillis added.
The comedian revealed he had a cordial conversation with Judge, despite him supporting the opposing team. The New Yorkers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 after Gillies interacted with the Bronx Bomber's captain.
However, Judge had a tough outing, while DJ LeMahieu stole the spotlight with a homer and six RBIs, leading the team to victory.