Monday, September 22, 2008

Stadium sings its swan song

Beautiful music was created Sunday night in the Bronx. It wasn't a sad farewell to Yankee Stadium, it was
a celebration
. Bernie Williams received the largest ovation of the evening and it was a memorable marathon day for the fans.

Maybe I don't make six figures, but nights like this is one of many reasons why I decided to get into the journalism business.

Including Sunday night, my Stadium memories are plentiful: Playoff games in 1997, 1998, and 2004-2006. Alex Rodriguez driving in 10 runs. Bernie's final regular season home game as a Yankee (to date, anyway), when he served as acting manager. Randy Johnson besting Tim Wakefield, 1-0 on September 11, 2005. Welcoming back Bobby Murcer on Opening Day 2007 and ghost writing his exclusive column. Josh Hamilton's incredible performance at the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game the following night.

Personally, two stand out: Walking the Stadium with my dad, "The Walk" as we called it, talking Yankees history. And playing our guessing game during the handful of Old Timers' Days we attended, trying to beat each other on naming the player before he's announced to the crowd.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Jon, great memories. I was there once back in 1988 and it was mind blowing. I won't be sad to see that place go, but I was glad I got to see it.

-Mike