Although I am super excited for baseball season to be starting in about 4 weeks, I am only a tad excited to see the inside of the new stadium. It is so hard to think of the Yankees playing anywhere else but the Stadium. I have been going to games since the late 80's as a kid, and have had the privilege of seeing a great number of games over the years and even more so in recent years with my season tickets. It's a shame for anyone who never got the opportunity to see a game from one of the greatest places on Earth as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps other teams fans won't really understand this, and wonder how I could not be super happy about a whole new state of the art stadium but it just isn't that simple.
Shea Stadium was torn down and I did a jig, not so much because I dislike the Mets, but that place was a dump. It was purple and ugly, and you can even see pictures online that make it appear as a toilet bowl. I will actually make an attempt at some point this season or next to get to Citi Field to see a game, preferably when they are playing the Cardinals. I have also been saying I am going to do that for about 3 years, and have yet to go but I think now I might actually follow through since it's not Shea.
Yankee Stadium hosted so many play-off games, World Series games, and many other historical moments. You can't replace how a place made you feel when you walked in, or how you felt walking into the first game of the season and seeing the inside of the Stadium. I am sure I will like the new stadium just fine, but all the magic and memories of all the Legends that have played in that Stadium are gone now. Hopefully all of Jeter's friendly ghosts packed their bags and moved across the street.
Did anyone else find it difficult to see their team playing in a new stadium after many years and memories or were you happy to see it happen?
I can tell you that when they replaced 3 Rivers with PNC Park it was bittersweet. Yeah, PNC is gorgeous and 3 Rivers was a dump but it was the first ball park I went to as a youngster and I'm still nostalgic for it. And it's where Clemente and Stargell and Bradshaw played. And won 6 championships. It's just not the same anymore. Sorry, I mean the new Yankee stadium will be great!
ReplyDeleteI love how they have "TURNER" in big bold letters on the front.
ReplyDeleteThe guy who built the Braves in front and center on the new Yankee stadium.
Sweet.
Yeah, and he's done such a great job with them in recent years...
ReplyDeleteUpset that the Reds moved into something other than a stadium that should have been filled in for bass fishing?
ReplyDeleteI think not. I don't care how many memories a concrete circle has GABP is way better.
Can't wait to visit Turner Field North this summer!
I MISS THE VET!
ReplyDeleteI miss Silver Stadium!
ReplyDeleteSigh...It was my life long dream to see a game there in the old stadium but i guess that hope is gone now.
ReplyDeleteI have since shifted my goal to seeing a game at the new one.
I liked old Busch Stadium plenty, but the new Busch Stadium is just a far, far better baseball experience. Clean, spacious, open, the ability to visit a concession stand in between innings while missing little or even no baseball, and great views of the game.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as a non-Yankee fan who has seen a game at the old Yankee Stadium, I would argue whatever historic soul that old Yankee Stadium, speaking of the interior structure more than the field, had, died in the horrid 1970's era renovation that turned the building into just another concrete monstrosity that typified utilitarian American architecture of the 1950's through 1970's.
I would argue that if you took someone who knew nothing of the history of baseball and asked them to classify stadiums just by the look and feel of the place, they would more likely associate the 1970's-2008 Yankee Stadium with the cookie cutter stadiums of the 1960's-1970's than with the classic era stadiums.
1) What's the deal with "TURNER" on the stadium? Is Ted Turner a significant minority owner of the Yankees or did he lend Hankie/Georgie some money to finish the stadium?
ReplyDelete2) I don't miss the old ballpark here at all. The Albuquerque Sports Stadium will always hold a place in my heart because it is where I saw my first game and went to games for years after, but the renovated Isotopes Park is much better from a fan (and player) point of view. Plus, it brought a team back to Albuquerque. Had we not renovated the Sports Stadium, we might be stuck with an independent or low minor league club instead of a AAA level club.
The stadium I was born and raised in is Minnesota's Metrodome. The thing is the epitome of a dump - uncomfortable, poorly positioned seats, steep steps to climb and zero luster at all inside. The outside concourse is really nice, but the inside is awful. And I'm really going to miss it next season. The new Twins park is coming along nicely, and I can't wait to check it out, but as much as the Dome sucks, it's the only stadium I've ever known.
ReplyDeletebailorg, I definitely understand what you mean about the feel/look of the Stadium after the renovation. Only thing is, I never saw it before- I was born after that had already happened. I do see where people are coming from when they say that just from watching clips from old games, news clips, and pictures. I would have loved to have seen in pre-renovation. I'm sure the game experience will be better in the new one, but to me, you can't replace the feeling of the old one. maybe over time I won't care as much.
ReplyDeleteIf they ever get around to replacing Fenway, I'm not sure how I'll feel. I know I hated the idea they floated around a few years ago of building an exact replica. At least let the old park die when it's time. But, I must say I love the feeling knowing that I'm sitting in the bleachers watching the same field that people in the 20's sat and watched. I know it's new seats, and even new turf, but that link is still there. It'll be something different, that's for sure.
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