Someone that has never met me, but knows that I am a die-hard Yankee fan asked my mother how I feel about the Yankees moving out of The House That Ruth Built and moving in to The Palace That The Boss Built(my own little nickname). In a nutshell, I am a little torn.
Yankee Stadium, as we know it today, has been one of the most special places to me since 1980 when I attended my first game. I still remember having car problems on the way there, worried that we would miss the National Anthem. We did, but I survived anyway and have been attending games ever since. How many places do we visit several times a year, every year, for over 25 years and still get excited? I consider myself truly lucky that I have found such a place. I am so comfortable at Yankee Stadium, that I am happy to with just about anyone, anytime, and am also happy to go alone.
Some of my favorite sports memories occurred at Yankee Stadium. I have been lucky enough to be there for two clinching World Series games (Jared even caught a foul ball in the 7th inning of Game 6 in 1996), several pennant clinching games, countless World Series and playoff games, the day they clinched the AL East in 1996, Doc Gooden's no-hitter, Derek Jeter's dive in the stands, Paul O'Neill's last home game, Donnie Baseball's last home game (he even hit a home run), Roger Clemens' 300th win and 4,000 K game, the 2001 World Series where Tino and Brosius hit home runs with two outs in the bottom of the 9th on back-to-back nights...the list is truly endless for me. I am lucky. My daughter will attend her first game this year and while she won't remember it, I will, and I will always be able to tell her that she was there with me in the last year of Yankee Stadium.
One of my favorite memories has nothing to do with baseball. I don't remember what year it was, but it was Bat Day when I was about 8 or 9 years old. I called my grandfather who was at work and asked him if he would come home and take me to the game. He said that he couldn't because he was at work and that he was sorry. Well, about 20 minutes later, he came through the front door like a superhero and said, "Let's go." We were off to the stadium and when we got there, there was a long line at the ticket window. My Pop bought two off of a scalper, but didn't realize that the seats were about 8 rows apart from each other until we got inside. I sat on his lap the whole game and got my bat for Bat Day. Baseball doesn't mean a lot to my grandfather, but when I tell stories about how great he is as a grandfather, that's near the top of the list.
Nothing can take away those memories and they will always be special. However, time moves on and the new Stadium across the street will have every amenity known to man. The concourses will be wider, the site lines better, more options for food, and everything will be new. Sometimes, new is better. Sometimes, it's not. For me, I am looking very much forward to the new Stadium and seeing how they mesh the old with the new. I am sure it will be an experience like no other in sports...I just hope it's still special.
Some quick hits:
- The Giants are in the NFC Championship Game. I mean, how did this happen??? I was ripping Coughlin and Eli just a few weeks ago, but it seems that everyone has hit stride precisely at the right time. Do they have enough to win in Green Bay?
- Best thing that happened to me last week was being asked to be a part of the faculty for C&W's Emerging Broker Training this year. I graduated from the program last year and it's pretty cool to be invited back. What I am most grateful for is that I was able to get my mother a birthday present that she actually likes and is excited about. We bought her the iPod nano, and loaded it with songs and pictures so she could take it away on vacation. Happy Birthday Red!
- The Wii rocks.
- Keith and Fresh are down at Yankee Fantasy Camp this week. If anyone ever wants to buy me a really expensive present...that's it.
- Is Live Nation trying to put Ticketmaster out of business? If so, it's about 20 years too late.
- One month until pitchers and catchers report. Is it too early to start doing mock drafts for fantasy baseball?
- My daughter is obsessed with ceiling fans. I am not sure why, but she loves looking at them.
That's all for this week. "Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive if you can..."
JN
- Best thing that happened to me last week was being asked to be a part of the faculty for C&W's Emerging Broker Training this year. I graduated from the program last year and it's pretty cool to be invited back. What I am most grateful for is that I was able to get my mother a birthday present that she actually likes and is excited about. We bought her the iPod nano, and loaded it with songs and pictures so she could take it away on vacation. Happy Birthday Red!
- The Wii rocks.
- Keith and Fresh are down at Yankee Fantasy Camp this week. If anyone ever wants to buy me a really expensive present...that's it.
- Is Live Nation trying to put Ticketmaster out of business? If so, it's about 20 years too late.
- One month until pitchers and catchers report. Is it too early to start doing mock drafts for fantasy baseball?
- My daughter is obsessed with ceiling fans. I am not sure why, but she loves looking at them.
That's all for this week. "Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive if you can..."
JN
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