• Yankees 7-Orioles 3:

    All the nostalgia is understandable given the long history of Yankee Stadium, but the celebration and remembrances went so far over the top that only the hardest of hardcore Yankee fans couldn’t have been nonplussed at the absurdity. It’s nice to see all the old heroes like Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Don Larsen; and not-so-old like Bernie Williams and David Wells around the field, but when was enough going to be enough?
    This over-the-top attitude of superiority is one of the main reasons that the Yankees are so despised by everyone other than their own fans. And it’s not the players that are the problem. I don’t think anyone can look at the classy way in which guys like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte carry themselves and feel any animosity towards them, but it’s the sense of entitlement and cold corporate structure, along with the feeling of belonging and superiority of those that have any connection to the organization in any capacity that gets on people’s nerves.
    The way things are portrayed as the Yankees being above all competition isn’t just absurd in abstract terms, but absurd in reality as well. It’s conveniently forgotten, with this attitude, that not only has the team not won a championship since 2000 (supposedly the only barometer that matters no matter how good a year the team had), but they haven’t gotten out of the first round of the playoffs since 2004, and aren’t even making the playoffs at all this year. They’re seen as this monarchy, but have done little in recent years to fulfill that designation other than act like it’s theirs without reason.
    Of course, those that have an emotional connection to the stadium for one reason or another have reason to feel sentimental about it’s demolition, but this silliness of picking up dirt and the long wave goodbye made it seem as if the roster was moving to Fort Dix for basic training before heading to Baghdad to play as a way of defending the country and entertaining the troops. It’s enough. They’re not moving anywhere further than across the street and if the place was such a cathedral and landmark, then why are they being such a slave to the luxury boxes and dollars that come along with them and tearing it down?
    Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is just about baseball and all the moments that have happened at Yankee Stadium; a big chunk of it is to sell coins, photos, uniforms, statuettes, bobbleheads and all other kinds of dust-collecting junk (each individually numbered and with a certificate of authenticity) that someone’s grandson is going to find in the attic in 90 years and sell on E-Bay or whatever the equivalent is in the year 2100; and money is just about the main reason the stadium is being replaced to begin with. I’ve only been there perhaps ten times in my life, and while I understand the nostalgia considering all the history that’s gone on there, it’s not holy ground; it’s a baseball stadium and it’s being replaced because of money that the organization honestly doesn’t need. They’ve had their celebration and the ceremonies; can we stop hearing about it now please?