I heart Yankee Stadium. I truly do. It’s the baseball cathedral. A place where the die-hards go to worship their men in pinstripes. The House that Ruth Built. It’s an icon.
So why in the world are they tearing it down? Even Jeter said the new stadium won’t be the same. I loathe the new stadiums like Petco Park in San Diego and whatever they’re calling the one in San Fran (Pac Bell? They change it just about every two years). They’re sterile. They’re corporate. They scream of greed and luxury boxes.
Yankee Stadium, on the other hand, is gritty. It’s old school.
Ah, memories. The place is full of ghosts, you can count on that. And games etched in my mind since I was 7.
As I was cheering on my Yanks tonight at the rescheduled Opening Day, I couldn’t help but notice this: two seats away were two little girls wearing their pink Yankees shirts. Blowing kisses to Jeter on the field. Too cute. They understood the game but at times couldn’t understand what the crowd was doing or better yet -- why.
As Joba stormed the field in the 7th to take ownership of his mound - and rightly so, that hurler can throw a fastball at 95 mph - we went crazy. You could tell it’s been a long winter and we ached for our boys of summer. As people in my section shook hands, after all they’re season ticket holders and see each other on a regular basis, I watched the girls. They loved the game. They looked like little Yankee fans, in fact we all did, in the mammoth stadium.
So little Nicole asked what was going on/why we were clapping. After all there was no baseball action on the field at the moment, just a 22-yr old pitcher running to the mound.
Then I noticed the woman next to me, must’ve been in her 60s. She’s a season ticket holder for like what, 32 years? Will that be me 35 years from now (nah, JK! More like 25 years - scary thought!)...she LOVES her Yanks, always has, always will.
So as I noticed the budding little Yankee fans learning the game juxtaposed against this veteran and then feeling like a little kid myself every time I enter the stadium, I know this baseball religion will always be part of my summer ritual. Better yet, across generations we all have something in common.
On Opening Day people are friendly. They’re happy. Ecstatic! With a play-off like atmosphere coupled with excitement in the air, we were also a bit melancholy. The new stadium is not necessary. We have no choice. I can guarantee you this: the last day of the season will be a very sad one indeed.
And if you think I’m die-hard, you should check out the fan with a tattoo of the stadium on his bicep. Or the guy who said yesterday that he cut his vaca short in Disney with his fam to fly home for Opening Day.
It’s nice to be among my brethren, my fellow parishioners in the House of Yankees.
