Cheryl Willis and I are of the same ilk. This piece saluting The Boss and the summer of ’77 sums it all up for me. As you all know I am a die-hard Yankee fan. The Yankee championship run that year however, is unforgettable! I remember the night of the blackout in 1977, it was HOT,HOT, HOT (just like this summer), I was watching Barretta and playing the board game Trouble with my parents when the lights went out. To this day, I don’t think I have ever watched that Barretta episode in repeat. It was a terrifying night and next day for a 9-year-old.  It was that night that the Bronx in some respects began a descent that only in the past decade or so has it begun to recover from. Mr. Steinbrenner and the Yankees played a role every year by keeping our hopes high for another championship and silently without fanfare helping the community they call home.

Cheryl Wills: Reflections on the Boss and the Infamous Summer of ’77.