To the best of my knowledge, I have never, not once, not by mistake or on purpose rooted for the New York Yankees. They are the team, above all other teams, that I love to hate. I became a Red Sox fan in 1987(I didn’t realize in 1986 that I was rooting against my hometown’s own Jim Rice in the World Series) and have been cheering for them ever since. It’s ironic to me that Yankee Stadium and I share the same birthday, April 18. It would have been nice to see them lose their last game there because it would have clinched a playoff spot for the Red Sox and officially eliminated the Yankees from the postseason. However, I do need to make a confession. In 1998, Kerry Traynum and I embarked on a week long sports adventure that included baseball games in several cities and trips to the three major sports halls of fame. One of the games we witnessed was the Yankees versus the Marlins at Yankee Stadium. We played catch in a park beside the stadium before the game and it seemed as if the Stadium towered above us. When you enter the stadium you can’t see the field from the concourse area. When we went throught the tunnel to our section, I became overwhelmed with emotion. My eyes welled up and I just got a strong sense of the historic events that had taken place in this stadium. Going to monument park was equally overwhelming. My dad hadn’t been a Yankees fan either, but these monuments represented some of his heroes that he grew up watching. I think I had goosebumps for the whole game which the Yankees won handily and was high lighted by a Daryl Strawberry(yes, THAT Darly Strawberry) homerun. It started raining late but we just had to move back a few rows to get under the over hang. There was a big crowd that day, the fans were passionate but not crude, and it is a night I will never forget. Here’s the box score here. I don’t know what the new Yankee Stadium will look like, but I know it will not feel like the old one. It will, however, increase the Yankees income and spending which will allow them to remain, as always, The Hated Yankees.
Wow. I had no idea that game had such an impact on you. I remember:
1) feeling like we had ended up in San Juan after making a wrong turn in the Bronx.
2) being afraid during the game of catch-a feeling confirmed by everyone from New York who has ever heard that story
3) being unimpressed by Yankee Stadium itself–I think that Fenway, Wrigley and even Camden can make an experience regardless of the team. The Yankees and their history make Yankee Stadium.
4) the soft pretzels were really good.
5) I should have gone to Monument Park, but hate prevented it.
Hope all is well. Let me know if you are ever in Charlotte.