Sully's Stuff

A New (York) Yankee Stadium

The New York Yankees announced their plans to build a new stadium in the Bronx to open in 2009 yesterday.

The first Major League Baseball game I ever saw was a mid-week afternoon game at Yankee Stadium. Because my grandfather knew somebody, our seats were 4 rows behind the Yankee dugout on the home plate side. One of the things that I remember most about that first trip was the experience of coming out of the tunnel into the seating are for the first time. After a car ride into the Bronx (which back in the early '80's was quite a trip for a little kid from Connecticut) where the scenery got more and more depressing the farther and farther you went from home, the majesty of the building itself heightened your anticipation. But walking up the tunnel and seeing the field -- an explosion of green grass -- and the imposing decks of seats rising like a blue wall surrounding the field is just something that you don't forget. The field didn't sneak up on you gradually, it exploded into view, not unlike the Fort Pitt Tunnel introduces you to downtown Pittsburgh.

Over the years I had a lot of great experiences at the Stadium, with many of the most important people in my life -- with my dad, my mother, my sisters, friends of my fathers, my uncle, my friends, my wife, and on a rainy Friday Father's Day weekend in 2003, I watched Roger Clemens win his 300th game with my son Russell.

I know that I'll most likely have very few memories of the new stadium that opens in 2009. Most of the memories that I have from when I was young will be made for my family at PNC Park, but Yankee Stadium will always be one of the special places that I've spent time with others.

posted by Sully @ 6/16/2005