Mike Arougheti’s education in the emotional connection baked into fandoms began in the summer of 1978, high in the outfield seats of Yankee Stadium.

His father had brought him and his brother to witness the Yankees locked in its legendary pennant race with Boston. “Being the son of two schoolteachers, we were sitting kind of in the upper, upper decks,” Arougheti said.

When All-Star reliever Goose Gossage entered the game, the stadium erupted—and with it, the crowd around him, filled with colorful characters. “I just remember this guy with his shirt off and jean shorts spinning like a whirling dervish shouting ‘Goose! Goose! Goose!’ at the top of his lungs,” Arougheti said. 

That moment taught the future Ares Management CEO something profound about what happens when people unite around a common cause. “I just remember how exciting it was to be at that place with all those people,” Arougheti reflected. “That was a real visceral moment for me in so many ways as a New Yorker, but also as a baseball fan.”