“I want to say it’s been bigger than the World Series. I would say the crowd here and the crowd we had when we played against Mexico, it’s bigger and better than the World Series. The passion that these fans have, representing their country, representing some of their favorite players, there’s nothing like it.”

Uh-oh. Sirens! What's happening? Drone attack? Mass shooting? A celebrity down?  

Nope. Be calm. 

Aaron Judge has dropped a truth bomb on America. 

He said aloud what everybody is thinking: 

Suddenly, the World Baseball Classic matters. 

It wasn't always this way. Remember when nobody cared? The WBC was a fart, a bridge to March Madness, a distraction to the critical questions: do we go with Jake Bird or Angel Chivilli? When we talked about the WBC, we discussed our major fears: A tweaked gonad or overworked pitch count. The WBC mattered even less than spring games, which mattered nothing at all. 

And yet... this week, we saw veteran stars dance like teenyboppers. We saw old-timers leap dugout railings, as if the world suddenly encountered the intersection of human nature with pro sports.  

You cannot buy hunger. 

And nobody worth $300 million ever truly sweats a loss, as long as the next bank transfer pings on time. 

Yesterday's words from the Captain of Team America - and, cough, the Yankees - should not affect Judge's standing. Truth is truth. The WBC is more appealing, more genuine, more memorable, than anything we'll see until maybe mid-September, when the pennant race means life and death (in that figurative way.)  There are other reasons... 

1. The WBC lets fans root for players we otherwise miss, or worse, hate. We can close our eyes and imagine Bryce Harper as a Yankee (because he shoulda been one, dammit.) And Roman Anthony. And Gunner Henderson. Fuck, the whole damn team should be Yankees. Oh, well..

2. It raises an undercurrent of geopolitical realities. You felt it in USA v Canada, and USA v Mexico. We would have definitely felt it in a game against Cuba, or the Netherlands (winner takes Greenland!) Now... USA v Venezuela. Yikes. In a strange way, this game does matter. 

3. Soon, MLB and YES will launch their nightly fodder. And with nothing better to do, I will watch. The Yankees have been a thread running throughout my life. No matter how pissed I get at them, there is always a Cam Schlittler or Oswaldo Cabrera. (Wait. Anybody got a bead on Osvaldo Bido?) 

The WBC reminds MLB stars what it's like to be 12-year-olds, to play for family and the universe, and live on the edge. In the WBC, each day is a month, and each month is a lifetime. 

Judge just spake the truth. Good for him. We cannot buy hunger. Why did anybody ever think otherwise?