THE NEW YORK YANKEES have won 27 World Series Titles, spawning diehards as well as detractors through the years.

From the time of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, to Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra then to Reggie Jackson and Derek Jeter?s era, the Yankees have delivered the most number of box office hits in a city so demanding of superlative performances.

Despise of the Yankees arguably escalated in the middle of the 1950s when a Broadway musical and a later movie called ?Damn Yankees? featured Joe, an aging Washington Senators fan who regained his youth to become a star for his team and get a chance to beat the Yankees.

The transformation was borne out of a pact with the devil and as most deals of this kind go, it fizzled out but not without Joe winning one against the Yankees.

The adulation and the hatred resurfaced this year as the Yankees clinched the American League championship and then won, 4-2, against Philadelphia in the October classic.

The Yankees clearly wanted it to be their year after almost a decade of waiting.

Key players Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettite and Jeter are all entering the last phase of their careers and wanted to win another title. The same goes for Alex Rodriguez who had accomplished almost everything except get a World Series ring.

When the Yankees are good, they are really good and it?s clear in the huge clutch plays they pull off.

In the World Series pressure cooker, games are not always won by the largest of margins but by the decisive hits and defensive plays.

The Yankee bats came to life when they needed them most.

Hideki Matsui?s Series MVP performance delivered the runs when the Phillies were threatening to extend the series.

Rodriguez hit his stride in Game 3 when his shot that was initially declared a double was ruled a home run after a replay review.

And, of course, Rivera did what he does best by securing the games with consistent pitching in the end.

Baseball fans of other teams moan over the seeming injustice of why a team that has won so much should win again.

There is sheer delight when the Yankees falter like in 2004 when they wasted a 3-0 American League Finals lead against Boston.

But opposing teams just have to play at such a high level against the Yankees because their fans and tradition create a formidable foe on the field.

Thoughts of a new Yankee title run though have to be put on hold because of the age of its stars, the possible departure of Matsui and the expected reshuffling that will happen in the offseason.

Meanwhile, Yankee fans are singing ?Happy Days Are Here Again? while haters are gnashing their teeth and are already counting the days to the next season when Yankee fate would be uncertain at most.