Take me out to the Ball Game
I have to say, hands down, without a doubt, one of the greatest experiences in life has to be going to a major league baseball game at
Yankee Stadium. I would love to say going to a game at
any major league ballpark, but there us just something about the stadium in
the Bronx that sets it apart from the rest. I've been to a few other stadiums and they can't compare. First and fore most one of life's little triumphs is battling traffic on the cross island parkway, getting to the
ez-pass lane on the triboro bridge and making it to the stadium in one piece.
Once you reach the stadium there is this energy that consumes you. It is impossible not to get electrified and excited. I'm like a kid in a candy store. I have my ticket in hand from the second I step out of the car as I speedwalk feverishly to the gate. And as they tear that ticket in half and hand me back my stub, the hair on the back of my neck starts to rise. "I'm in Yankee Stadium!" Now, those faint smells you noticed in the parking garage surround you. Hot dogs, cotton candy, popcorn, soft pretzels, peanuts and beer. If they could only bottle that ballpark scent. Someone could make a fortune. At any other time the combination of so many different aromas would be enough to make someone ill, but not in a ballpark. There it smells like heaven.
The commotion of fans racing to their seats and stocking up on goodies for the game is amusing. We all look like ants in one of those ant farms running through the maze of tunnels. As you ride the escalator up, up ,up to the tier reserved seats year heart begins beating faster, faster you almost can't contain your excitement. The homestretch, walking the tunnel you can see the sun shining outside and as you approach your quicken your step. Finally, you reach the end and gaze out across the ballpark and for a split second your heart skips a beat and you hold your breath. The groundcrew is drawing the lines on the field and raking the infield. The players are warming up doing sprints in the outfield. You climb to your seat in utter amazement of the wonder that is major league baseball. And if you're lucky and get to the field early enough, you can tour Monument Park. Words can not describe the feeling walking through and reading about the likes of
and many others.
Once the feeling of awe subsides you return to your seat and the anticipation grows until you hear them announce the lineup. The roar of the crowd as the Bronx Bombers take the field is like nothing you have ever heard before. It is amazing you can take such pride in a team of, for all intense purposes, strangers. I have never met any of the players. I only know of them what I have read and yet I support and cheer for them as if they were my family and I will defend them to the death.
The NY Yankees are the greatest team in baseball history. Let me clarify that, this is not simply what I felt during my first experience at a game. This happens each and every time I attend a game which, as I get older, becomes more and more frequent.
In closing, while I know that not everyone has the opportunity to get to Yankee Stadium, got to your nearest major league ballpark at least once in your life, and if there isn't a major league park, go to a minor league game or even a little league game and cheer for your hometown team. It's the simple things in life that make it worthwhile. Enjoy the game.
