Bury My Heart at Yankee Stadium
Jeter waves goodbye to fans in his tour around the field.
I don’t remember the score…or who did particularly well that day. I only remember the vivid green hue of the grass, the foreign smell of beer, and the rapid tongues of countless vendors trying to sell $5 hot dogs. For me, it wasn’t just a game-it was a right of passage.
I was 5 years old when I first stepped off the subway platform and onto 161st Street and River Avenue in the Bronx. The throngs of people cascading onto the streets instilled a certain sense of fear in me, so I clutched onto my grandfather’s coat as tightly as I could.
This wasn’t an ordinary day in the simple life of a child. This was a day when a sense of pride would be fundamentally woven into the very fabric of my being. It was a day when I would be unofficially inducted into my second family. It was a day when I would be introduced to the grandest cathedral in all of sports-Yankee Stadium.
On September 21st 2008, a day which will live in infamy, the last game ever was played at Yankee Stadium. It was a day with a somber overtone, as more than 50,000 fans filed into the majestic stadium for one final time.
The pregame festivities began at around 1pm, when ticket-holding fans were allowed to enter the Stadium nearly 7 hours before the scheduled start of the game. With access to Monument Park–which houses memorials dedicated to legendary players–and the ability to actually walk on the center field grass, fans did all that was in their power to participate in this historic send-off.
On-field ceremonies began an hour prior to game-time. Yankee legends, including Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, and David Wells were just three of the many players who came to pay their respects to the “big ballpark in the Bronx.” Certain players who couldn’t participate firsthand included Mickey Mantle and the recently deceased Bobby Murcer, whose families received recognition on their behalf.
Given the Yankees’ dwindled ambitions of reaching the post-season this year, the night’s events were bitter sweet in a sense. With an elimination number of just 1, (meaning either a single Red Sox win or a Yankees loss knocks the Yankees out of contention) many fans are disappointed with a lackluster season that didn’t allow the Stadium to see a proper world-championship sendoff, which so many fans had anticipated at the season’s inception.
Derek Jeter concluded the evening with a rousing speech in which he acknowledged and paid tribute to the fans. Walking slowly around the entire field, Jeter and all of his teammates, along with the fans, salvaged one final piece of nostalgia that was to be had at the Stadium.
In it’s illustrious history, the Stadium has housed 100 World Series games, been visited by three popes, and seen countless heavyweight boxing, soccer, and football matches. It is a venue that has been woven into the tapestry of New York, and it owns a special place in the hearts of sports fans worldwide.
It will be missed.
Yankee Stadium: 1923-2008.
9 comments
is this your blurb? if so could you shorten it to one pithy paragraph? the idea is to see what you can do in a paragraph… brevity, the soul of wit, or something like that… If it’s just a post for human interest and not your blurb then I take it all back.
Zoe,
Sorry about that. I can be a bit overzealous at times. In the next comment is my revised blurb, which is a paragraph in length.
Bury My Heart at Yankee Stadium
On September 21st 2008, Yankee Stadium witnessed its last ever baseball game. With an overwhelmingly somber overtone, more than 50,000 fans filed into the majestic stadium for one final time. Pregame festivities began at around 1 p.m., when ticket-holding fans were able to roam around Monument Park and walk on the center field grass. On-field ceremonies began an hour prior to game-time. Those in attendance included Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, and David Wells, as well as representatives from deceased ballplayers who received posthumous recognition. The stadium is set to be demolished in the spring of 2009 and converted into a public park.
They’re tearing down Yankee stadium?! Did the Yankees win? haha (sorry i didn’t your overzealous novel so I don’t know if you mentioned it)
Teach me to write, please!? You always show so much passion.
The overzealous novel and the blurb were great. Your writing always paints a picture in my head.
Corey – try to incorporate some of the personal feel; the nostalgia and family history you describe in your ‘epic’ lends a really nice quality that is missing from your short blurb. It would be a shame to lose that. See what you can do to encapsulate the feeling of the first writing into the shorter piece.
Thanks a lot Walter. But….my English professor would beg to differ with you 🙂
I will rewrite my blurb tomorrow, trying to incorporate some of the personal feel of my full-fledged review. I really must work now on revising an essay for that aforementioned English professor who magnifies even my tiniest mistakes.
Bury My Heart at Yankee Stadium
My love affair with baseball began at the tender age of 5, when my grandfather dragged me to what he had proclaimed was baseball’s equivalent of Mecca—Yankee Stadium. I was immediately enveloped by the larger-than-life size of the complex, the bright green grass, and the countless hot dog vendors. Nearly 13 years later, Yankee Stadium has witnessed its last ever baseball game. The day’s farewell ceremonies perfectly concluded the Stadium’s 85-year run of dominance. With an overwhelmingly somber overtone, more than 54,000 fans filed into the majestic stadium for one final time. Pregame festivities began at around 1 p.m., when jubilant ticket-holding fans were able to roam around Monument Park and walk on the center field grass. Such a liberal policy on behalf of Stadium officials is commendable; fans were able to get closer to their idols both past and present on a spiritual and physical level, respectively. On-field ceremonies began punctually an hour prior to game-time. Those in attendance included Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, and David Wells, as well as representatives from deceased ballplayers who received posthumous recognition. In this aspect, the Yankee organization did a masterful job in conjoining two essential eras in the history of the sport.
I realize now that my first blurb was very straightforward-I focused upon maintaining objectivity, which is characteristic of a hard news article rather than a review. I think I’ve worked out the kinks now though.
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