A HOUSE FIT FOR A KING...or maybe a handful of Emperors.
by Matt Minucci
So, have you seen this? Have you heard about this? It's the new Yankee Stadium. And believe me when I say to you it is a house fit for royalty. Because you'd have to be a king, queen or at least some sort of duke, to afford decent seats. Now, this isn't new. The Yanks - and to a lesser extent - the Mets have been getting slammed all season for their exorborant ticket prices. They've been accused of pricing out the average fans - the ones that make up the bulk of their fan base - and make their parks into a trendy 'event' for the rich and famous. And to some extent, this is true.
I know what we should do today! Let's tax the peasants and then take in a Yankee game! Cheerio!
Although, having been to both stadiums, I can say that Shea...er...Citi Field, is much more family friendly. There's a place for kids to hit and run around a faux infield. There's a dunk tank where kids can fire baseballs at a target and try to sink a poor slob sitting above a tank of water, wearing the opposing teams colors. There's also a LOT of places to get candy and ice cream - something that was vitally important to my 5 year old.
Plus, at the new Citi Field, every game Mr. Met beats one opposing fan to death during the 7th inning stretch. Ok, I made that up.
Yankee Stadium has none of this. It has grandiose monuments to heroes of bygone ages. Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle...the great ghost of Yankees past dominate the massive Bronx Monolith. Yes...Citi Field pales in comparison to this unbelievable tribute to Yankee pride and history. Basically, Citi Field feels like a nice little ball park. But Yankee Stadium feels like...a mausoleum.
Pictured: The New Yankee Stadium
And herein lies my biggest issue with the new Yankee Stadium. In all this masturbatory (we're all adults here. Calm down.) magnificence, the Yankee heirarchy forgot they were building a ballpark and not a monument to their own crapulence. As a result, while still drawing 35 to 40 thousand fans (probably 45K paid attendence, but only 30-35 actually there), it feels like there's maybe 10,000 people there. It absorbs the sound. You can hear yourself think. And this is a big problem. I don't mind hearing myself think at a church. That's when I balance my checkbook. And while the old Yankee Stadium was revered as a "Cathedral"...we certainly didn't want to play ballgames in one. I half expected the Bishop to "shush" me everytime I tried to start a "let's go Yankees" cheer.
In the old park, the Stadium rocked. It shook. It felt like a freakin' earthquake. During rallies against the Red Sox, I often felt like the old place would fall down all around me. AND SO DID THE OPPOSING TEAM! And this is what made it GREAT! It was intimidating. It was terrifying. It was the ultimate home field advantage. In 1998, Tony Gwynn brought his Padres in to play the 114-48 Yankees at the old Yankee stadium in the World Series. They left down 0-2 and were grateful for the pleasure of just having been able to play on the same field as the old time Yankee greats. The same field were DiMaggio roamed, Ruth crushed homer after homer, and Lou Gehrig stood tall for 2130 straight games. The ghosts roamed the place and the ball bounced in favor of the pinstripers. In this new monstrosity - which in all it's glory and gorgeousness - just doesn't have a shread of the terror imbued in the old place. Who roamed this outfield? Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera?
Pictured Above: Not Babe Ruth
Now, opposing teams rest in palacial comfort in their new, state of the art club house. They take bp and roam the field, unable to hear the catcalls of true blue Yankee fans - the few that can afford to be there - because the new place seems to absorb all the sounds and churn it out as recycled pleasing elevator music. The cruel chants of the 70's have become...Enya.
I'll let a Red Sox fan have the last say, and I quote: "I love the new Yankee stadium. It's awesome. It's vanilla. Thank you Yanks, for destroying the greatest home field advantage in all of sports."
