Day 29

Sunday...

Today was the centerpiece of the trip. When we decided to come to New York it was to see Yankee Stadium before it is demolished. And today was the Yankees game. We bought the tickets before the season started for thirty bucks on Stubhub. Sunday morning I checked Stubhub and tickets to today's game, in our section, were going for $120. So it sounds like everyone wants to see the Stadium one last time. Or first time in our case.

Jose flew in this morning. He was kind enough to send me a text message and let me know he was getting on his flight at 5:30. I had been sleeping about an hour and a half. And I went back to bed. Then he called from the airport at ninish and woke us all up again. And I went back to bed. I ended up getting up a little before ten when Jose got in and we all started getting ready for the game. Kind of grumpily because we were all up so late the last two nights and were all so sleepy. But we got out the door a little after eleven and started walking to the train. That's when Isaac started bitching about being hungry but we didn't stop and eat because we wanted to get to the game.

We had no significant subway problems and we arrived at Yankee Stadium at about 12:15, approximately 45 minutes before game time. We stopped at a pizza joint across the street and Isaac was happy. The area outside Yankee Stadium is quite unique. I didn't even realize that the building I was looking at was the stadium. It just sort of looks like a big metallic wall. There are some bars across the street but nothing like Wrigleyville. And of course lots of people selling stuff.

The first minor annoyance of the day was that Isaac was not permitted to bring his backpack into the park. Something about...you got it...9/11. Furthermore, for whatever reason the park has no bag check. So some of the local bars saw a market and began offering bag check. So we crossed the street and Isaac checked his bag for five bucks. This was actually a pretty interesting bar because it was also a bowling alley, not exactly what I had expected. We went into the stadium (and found that we had to all show our phones at the gate...something about 9/11.)

Our seats were all the way the hell at the top of the ballpark. They were right behind home plate though and I kind of liked this. It was nice to have a broad view of the whole place. And the projects too, for that matter.

So my impressions. Once I sat down I started to feel the ghosts in the building. Just taking a moment to reflect on all the baseball history that has taken place in this building was overwhelming. That said, I can understand why they are replacing this park. Anybody who has ever complained about the hallways at Wrigley Field should take a trip to Yankee Stadium and compare notes. I think the hallways in my house may be wider. The seats are ridiculously far away from the field. Most aspects about the park are dingy and old, but unlike Wrigley (and presumably Fenway) there just do not seem to be enough redeeming elements to justify staying. But it is still a fantastic park that has housed a lot of historic moments and I am sure many Yankee fans will shed a tear on its last day.

The Yankees ended up winning this game, 4-1. Andy Pettitte pitched very well. But the highlight was definitely seeing Ken Griffey hit a solo home run. I was very impressed with the Yankee fans reaction to this. Most of the stadium gave him a standing ovation. In this, and in other circumstances, Yankee fans proved themselves to be one of the classiest crowds I have witnessed. They are very loud...when they are supposed to be, not when the scoreboard tells them to be. They are knowledgeable of the game and the players. So kudos to you, New York.

We also had a rain delay during the game. In fact, we had a very impressive thunderstorm. There was all kind of crazy lighting and it was raining cats and dogs (I can't remember the last time I used that phrase.) Luckily, our cheap seats worked in our favor and we did not get wet. Also, the Yanks have one of the most ghetto tarps I have ever seen. Makes sense I guess. It was just like a sheet of white plastic that didn't even have a logo on it. They held it down with a bunch of wooden planks.

Isaac had to leave after the eighth inning to catch his bus. So Jeff and Jose and myself left after the game and caught the subway into Manhattan. We had our typical troubles with the system but finally found Times Square and the Heartland Brew Pub. Unfortunately there was not a whole lot for me to eat there as a vegetarian. I got some chips and dip and a couple drinks and I was happy. Then Jose bit into a staple or something in his food and they gave us the meal for free. So good things keep happening!

After dinner we took a taxi down a few blocks to Chelsea and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre for a show called Asssscat. This is a sketch comedy/improv show started by Horatio Sanz and Amy Poehler. The show was at 9:30. It was free. We got in line at about 8:00 behind a load of other people. At about 8:45 the word drifted back that this was the standby line and there was very little chance we were getting in. At this point the friend we made, an aging hipster who claimed he saw us at Coney Island and dropped one of the greatest one liners I've ever heard about breasts on us, decided to leave. But our stretch of good luck continued and we somehow made it in.

And it was awesome. Amy Poehler was not there but Horatio Sanz was, along with four people I had never heard of. A couple of them were not very funny but the rest of them carried the show. Basically the concept is that one of the audience members shouts out a word (in our case it was "fire house dog") and the comedians go into sketch comedies involving this word. Then they sort of shoot off from this into other topics. It's pretty great and the best part is that it is all off the cuff so you know you will get a new show every night.

So we were among the last people in the theatre and we were kind of sitting off to the side, on the floor, next to a curtain. Not an ideal spot by any means. Now I was wearing my Cubs hat and Jeff his Sox hat, since the teams were playing each other tonight. All of a sudden, about halfway through the show, Horatio Sanz burst through the curtain right next to us and goes, "Hey guys", and I thought he was going to tell us that we weren't allowed to sit there. But instead he said, "The Cubs are up 6-1." So that was great. Not only were the Cubs winning but Horatio Sanz became the most famous person ever to seek me out to let me know that. Thanks Horatio!

We got out of the show a little after eleven. Since we saw a free show and ate a free dinner we decided to reward ourselves on all this saved money by taking a taxi back to the hotel. It didn't cost too much and it was so nice to get back at a reasonable hour. We watched a little tv, I wrote Saturday's blog (still a day behind), and headed to sleep.

Another great day...