Spectre is coming out today and is supposed to be the best Bond movie since Skyfall was supposed to be the best Bond movie. I’m not a fan of Daniel Craig as James Bond, but I’ll admit this movie does look good; and Christoph Waltz will probably be an awesome Bond villain. I’ve always preferred the old school Bond movies versus the new ones, but in honor of Spectre coming out today I decided to compare all of the recent Yankees championships to Bond actors. Before you ask “why the hell would you do that?” just remember that the World Series is over, Opening Day is 151 days away, the Browns and Bengals are going to play a stinker on Thursday Night Football tonight, and I can’t listen to another person say they want the Yankees to pursue Zack Greinke. So let’s get to it.
1996 Championship – Roger Moore
If you look back and compare Moore to Connery or Brosnan you realize he was not as good, just like the 1996 team was not as good as the 1998-2000 Yankees. Roger Moore played Bond as if he was a 1960s Mad Man turned secret agent, and it was highly entertaining. He was the John Wetteland of the Bond actors – eccentric, charming, and always enjoyable. But in a fantasy world if the ’96 Yankees played the ’98-99 Yankees, they would get stomped.
Best Roger Moore Bond movie: Moonraker.
1998 Championship – Sean Connery
You probably thought Sean Connery would be the 1996 championship since he was the first, but Connery is the GOAT and so were the 1998 Yankees. Jeter, Mariano, Pettitte, and Posada were all entering their prime. The team won 125 games overall and steamrolled through the regular season. The only hiccup was Chuck Knoblauch’s brain fart in the ALCS, but even he made up for it a few days later. The Connery Bond movies are the best for the charm, stunts, cars, and overtly sexual innuendos.
Best Sean Connery Bond movie: Goldfinger.
1999 Championship – Timothy Dalton
The ’99 championship is the forgotten one because it was wedged between 1998 and 2000. T-Dalt is forgotten because he was wedged between Roger Moore and Bierce Brosnan. Dalton made some solid Bond movies though, and the ’99 Yankees were solid as well. Ok, that’s putting it lightly – they won 98 games and 11 out of 12 postseason games they played. How can you not love a guy who used a cello case as a bobsled?
Best Timothy Dalton Bond movie: The Living Daylights.
2000 Championship – Pierce Brosnan
If you’re in your mid-20s like me, you probably had an N64. If you had an N64, you probably played countless hours of GoldenEye 007. If you played countless hours of GoldenEye 007 then you loved the movie GoldenEye, which was Brosnan’s first. After T-Dalt left, the Bond movies needed Pierce Brosnan much like the Yankees needed to beat the Mets to justify their dynasty. If the Yanks lost to the Mets in 2000 that would have been a tough pill to swallow, but it was never really in question much like Pierce Brosnan – he was the prototypical Bond actor.
Best Pierce Brosnan Bond movie: Die Another Day for one reason, and one reason only:
2009 Championship – Sean Connery
Oh shit! Look who is back, its Sean Connery… the greatest who ever played Bond. After Diamonds Are Forever Sean Connery said he would never play Bond again, but after a twelve year hiatus he came back for Never Say Never Again. That was the 2009 Yankees. They had a drought from 2000-2008, but retooled and got back on top. It was the same guys at the core: Jeter, Mariano, Pettitte, and Posada. 2009 put a bow on the Core Four era, and it was a championship they and the fans truly needed.
Seriously, is it baseball season yet?
