New York, New York Part 2

The Yankees Game

The subway was a little difficult to figure out at first. We found ourselves wandering around trying to find either "uptown" or "downtown" and each train that we needed to find. We did quickly get the hang of it. It was nice that we had to pay $2 no matter how far we were traveling on the subway. At one point, the doors opened and in the "waiting area" we saw two rats just hanging out around a trashcan. You could also tell who the real New Yorkers were just by seeing what they were doing on the subway. The adults had books or crossword puzzles and the kids and teenagers had gameboys and ipods. It seemed oftentimes like we were the only people without an electronic gadget to "play" with on the subway.

When we were unsure of which subway train to get on to get to the Yankee game, we saw a group of men wearing uniform pinstripes, and we decided to follow them. They led us to the right train and to the stadium!

We got off the subway and the stadium was right there! We were a little confused once we got inside, because we were not exactly sure where to go to get to our seats. Finally, we figured out that we needed to go UP. So, up we went. There was the main area called "sections" that were closest to the field, and the top areas were "main", "lodge", and "tier." Our tickets were "Tier 34." So, we just kept climbing up. Finally, we got to our tier, and turned to go up some more. Going up the stairs to get to our seats was literally like climbing a ladder -- it was THAT steep! Jake says, "The tiers felt like they hung over the diamond because it was so steep!" We were almost at the top of the stadium, but we felt like we were close to the field. It was so steep that it didn't matter where you sat, you felt like you were close to the field.

It was amazing to be able to watch a team whose fans were so supportive of them. The fans had a cheer for each player. The bleacher fans (out in the outfield) had a tradition for every game; they would say "Hell-llo" and wave the first time each Yankee would be up to bat. It was cool to see that.

There was a big ceremony before the game of all the "greats" that had passed through that field and played there. It was such a legacy to be proud of, and the fans were all very proud of their players. It was overwhelming to be in the presence of that. There were 53,610 fans in the stadium that night; the game was sold out. The total number of fans that had ever been in the stadium throughout it's 85 year history was just under 152,000,000.

During the 7th inning stretch, they played YMCA. The cameras picked up several fans dancing and showed it on the jumbo-tron. The best part of that was the groundsmen who were grooming the field during that time. They all danced the YMCA as they were grooming the infield. They did turns together and everything. It was hilarious!

The moment the game was over, there were cops on the field, prepared to keep people from trying to take any part of the stadium. They had cops on horses in the outfield and lining the field were cops with long sticks (to keep people in line!). It was crazy after the game was over. These pictures kind of show the cops lining the field. The players are all on the infield grass. Despite the cops obviously waiting on the field, one idiot decided to run out onto the field. He was immediately tackled by several policemen and quickly escorted off the field.

Overall, it was a really good game to watch. There is so much talent there. Johnny Damon hit a 3-run-homerun and the place exploded. 53,000 people screaming and clapping is quite exhilerating!

We sat in a non-alcoholic section and sat next to a man who drank all night. He was very nice and friendly, but just got more and more drunk as the night wore on.

The Yankees did win their final game in their old stadium. It was a fun game to watch. The game didn't end until about midnight. Then, we had to get out of the stadium and on the subway and back to our hotel.

Once we got off the subway near our hotel, we saw a 24-hour convenience-type store, so we picked up some bottles of water and a few snacks. Then, we walked down Times Square just a little bit, since we had not had time to do that before the game. It was amazing that even that late at night, Times Square did not seem to slow down too much. We finally got back to the hotel around 1:00am. We were exhausted after a day of plane travel, figuring out the subway, and watching the game. We were finally in bed at 2:00am.

Still more to come...