had one of the most bittersweet experiences of my life today. at long last we took the yankee stadium tour. they’re going to tear the old building down in the next couple months and it’s a sickening shame.
the structure is fine, the facilities are fine, the seats are fine, the field is gorgeous, the memories are embedded in the concrete.
the new stadium is 100% about greed.
anyway, we’ve had some magical times in this house that ruth built. the old ghosts still roam the halls here; gehrig, mantle, ruth, berra, dimaggio, i could go on for days.
there’s a special energy here that i’ve felt nowhere else. a few weeks after september 11th we went to a playoff game. i’ll never ever forget the feeling of that building shaking as over 55,000 fans stomped and clapped and cheered the yanks on, all the while holding our breath every time a helicopter or airplane flew overhead. the spirit was huge, man.
today was harder than i expected. i just kept welling up, realizing this was the last time i would ever get to be there. the tour was all fans, too, all of us there to give our respects.
most special of all was getting to walk on the field and sit in the dugout. i got to sit in the yankees dugout. we got to go in the clubhouse, too (locker room for those outside baseball fandom). so many times i’ve seen those spaces on television, seeing them up close was surreal.
leaving was hard, the tour was over before any of us was ready. truly, the whole experience felt like saying goodbye to an old friend, one who is slipping away too soon and too quickly.
