Good Bye Yankee Stadium

Last week I went to Yankee Stadium for the last time.  It was very appropriate that my last game at Yankee Stadium was spent with my Dad.  The man that taught me everything I know about the Yankees and baseball.  Kinda funny that my heroes growing up were more of my fathers hero's, like Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, and Roger Maris.  Mickey was my fathers favorite player so naturally he became mine, even though I would never see him play.  My Dad would tell me stories of Mickey's monstrous home runs, world series wins, and how he could have been better if he could have stayed healthy.  I remember going to the ball park on the day that Mickey died.  My Dad and I would do a father son game with my friend Chris and his father.  We had started on our way there when the news came over the radio.  They had a little ceremony before the game that I am grateful that I didn't miss.  There were many other games that we all went to that made the history books.  We went to the longest 9 inning game in the history at Yankee stadium.  I don't remember the game as much as I remember people getting into fights, throwing beer and someone almost going over the side of the upper deck.  Thats what happens when the first seven inning goes for 4 hours and the beer can continue to be sold up to the seventh inning.  I remember another game that we went to that we sat out in left field and that during batting practice I could a ball from the other team.  Everyone waiting and hoping for a ball to come our way and there I was with only my Yankee hat that I was wearing to catch the ball.  I somehow managed to fight my way to the front and catch the ball in my hat.  Lately the games have been very different.  I started other traditions with my friends to go down to make sure that we saw atleast one game a year.  This being after college when I had a little more money to see the games.  These were great times simply because of stan's bar, drinking infractions in the parking garage and the Yankees winning most of the time.  The one thing I regret is not making it to monument park or take a tour of the stadium, but who knows maybe in the next couple of weeks.