how pride is how you define it

i asked this of my two friends, die-hard yankee fans, and i figured i'd throw it out there for any other fans of the evil empire:

everybody loved the championship yankee teams of the late 90s. not only were they the best team in baseball, but their front office was also the best in the majors. and when people talk about those teams, they talk about their pitching and defense and timely hitting - mostly because the team salary was the highest, but not out of whack from the rest of the league. they were a team built in a competitive atmosphere.

assuming the yanks win this year, people will remember them as the best team money can buy. they'll look at that lineup and see how expensive it is. they'll look at the infield and see that they're more expensive than five major league teams. they won't be remembered for that intimidating lineup. and it's all because their salary is severely out of whack from the rest of the league. in that way, it's not a competitive atmosphere. but it is within the rules.

you can argue this previous paragraph all you want, but you can't. you might not see it that way, but that's the way it is. everyone admired those old yanks teams. this one is purely mercenary.

here's my question. do you hold a softer spot in your heart for those late 90s teams, who dominated in a competitive environment, or this team, that dominates in a completely different stratosphere?