09-22-2008, 02:53 PM
I only went sporadically in recent years, out of disgust at the way fans were treated somewhere between serfs and cattle by Steinbrenner, especially after 9/11. Yankee Stadium was a cathedral. Would they tear down St. Patrick's to build a ritzier on next door? (Let's not bring Rockefeller Center into it.)
I used to go once a year on a sunny afternoon, always surprised I could remember how to keep a scorecard. We all have moments we'll never forget. Some of mine were Ken Singleton hitting a home run deep into the center field bleachers (back when that really meant something), Reggie Jackson winning a game against Baltimore with a home run in the bottom of the ninth that every single person in the stadium (including, I'm sure, the Baltimore pitcher) knew he was going to hit.
My last visit was a few years ago, and I had the privilege of taking my father, then in his late seventies, and my two sons. It was a nondescript game, and I can't remember who was visiting, or even who won, but I'll always treasure the pictures of my family from way, way upstairs with that beautiful emerald diamond in the background.
I never wanted to go back after that, not even Yankee Stadium was worth the casual humiliation of having to carry one's belongings in a plastic bag.
I can't even begin to write about the money grubbing venality of it all.
One day this will be looked back upon as an act of barbarism equal to the destruction of the old Penn Station. This ripped out another piece of this city's heart.
New York is well on its way to becoming a playground for the rich, and nobody else except, perhaps, the people who clean their toilets, and our mayor never met a millionaire he didn't like. He's made New York a terrific place to live, if you're wealthy. Now he's done the same for baseball.
Sorry, I don't often wax so philosophical and bitter, but this just another depressing insult.
I used to go once a year on a sunny afternoon, always surprised I could remember how to keep a scorecard. We all have moments we'll never forget. Some of mine were Ken Singleton hitting a home run deep into the center field bleachers (back when that really meant something), Reggie Jackson winning a game against Baltimore with a home run in the bottom of the ninth that every single person in the stadium (including, I'm sure, the Baltimore pitcher) knew he was going to hit.
My last visit was a few years ago, and I had the privilege of taking my father, then in his late seventies, and my two sons. It was a nondescript game, and I can't remember who was visiting, or even who won, but I'll always treasure the pictures of my family from way, way upstairs with that beautiful emerald diamond in the background.
I never wanted to go back after that, not even Yankee Stadium was worth the casual humiliation of having to carry one's belongings in a plastic bag.
I can't even begin to write about the money grubbing venality of it all.
One day this will be looked back upon as an act of barbarism equal to the destruction of the old Penn Station. This ripped out another piece of this city's heart.
New York is well on its way to becoming a playground for the rich, and nobody else except, perhaps, the people who clean their toilets, and our mayor never met a millionaire he didn't like. He's made New York a terrific place to live, if you're wealthy. Now he's done the same for baseball.
Sorry, I don't often wax so philosophical and bitter, but this just another depressing insult.