First there was the Alll Star Game, hosted by Yankee Stadium. The stadium was packed with people. It shined in the night and I thought, how cool is that? We are gonna be there!
Then, in preparation for a long anticipated trip the home of the Bronx Bombers we watched Billy Crystal's HBO movie *61; the story of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle-teammates on the 1961 Yankees, both on track to break Babe Ruth's single season homerun record. The movie was great..but Billy Crystal's documentary on how he directed the movie and remade Tiger Stadium into Yankee Stadium in 1961 rang with passion. He loves the Yankees, and Yankee Stadium. The anticipation and expectation were just too much.
Easy to get to? Kinda...except NYC in the middle of July is just downright hot....and the subway stations are not air conditioned. Take the number 4 train...you can get a ticket at the booth down at the track. The guy in the booth was getting a chuckle watching my husband try to figure out what he wanted, and how he was going to get thru the turnstyle. He knew better...he came out from behind the glass to give LB a tutorial on swiping his card. On to the Number 4 train to Yankee Stadium. Sometimes it pays to be a tourist. Did I mention it was 95 degrees and humid? And the trains are not air conditioned either. But we were on our way to Yankee Stadium! The house the Ruth built!
I can see it! As the Number 4 train rumbled up alongside the stadium...the old stadium standing adjacent to the colosseum like new stadium scheduled to open next spring. All I could see was a sea of blue seats through a space in the outfield wall.
The train came to a halt and off we got...as I looked down the fire escape like structure onto the street below I was awestruck. What a dump! street vendors hawking t shirts..sleazy sports bars spilling out onto the nasty sidewalk; trash littering the ground..just a concrete jungle. Up overhead loomed the subway train tracks as the Number 4 train continued on its way.
Throngs of people headed like cattle to an opening in the cement wall...where's Gate number 2?
'Oh, around the other way."
"What do you mean you can't bring backpacks into the stadium?"
"You'll have to go over across form Gate Number 6 to the Bowling Alley to check your bag."
"Crap, my camera battery is just died!"
No one is ever going to believe this place without pictures.
Cracked cement, peeling paint, gloomy lighting, dank, dark and depressing.
Out onto the field the sun is shining and the stands go on forever, but the fact remains, it is a dump. No wonder the yankees hate Boston so much..they gotta be jealous of Fenway Park!
All I can say is they need a new stadium....and I hope they appreciate it. From the nasty food, to the grumpy people, to the flower pots acting as trash recepticals, Yankee Stadium is one place that is best remembered for how it used to be. Some people like old..say it lends character. I am just a spoiled Boston fan looking for a bit of history. Guess I'll watch the DVD.
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