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A moving tribute
The final Yankee game played in Yankee Stadium, which will be torn down later this year as the Yankees prepare to move into a new stadium across the street next season, was fitting in many ways.
The ceremony before and after the game were fitting, as fans who have been going to the stadium for years could reminisce about great moments and games that have been held since 1923. While for the most part the coverage of Yankee Stadium has been fair, there are some people who are seem to have put a little more significance into the moment than it probably deserves.
After all, the stadium was completely gutted and rebuilt in the ‘70s, with only the original frame remaining. It seems silly to think that this is the same stadium where Lou Gehrig made his famous speech, or the park in which Babe Ruth hit so many homeruns.
So many of those moments occurred in a stadium that was so drastically different than the stadium we know today, that it might as well have been across the street.
When the Yankees open the season next year in their new stadium, nothing will be lost. All of the aura that comes with entering Yankee Stadium will still be there. You’ll see the monuments, the retired numbers, and in many ways, the new Yankee Stadium is said to be more reminiscent of the original stadium built in the ‘20s. Of course you won’t have to hit the ball 500 feet to centerfield for it to clear the fence.
Most of all, the energy that the fans bring to the stadium, the roll call emanating from the bleachers, and hopefully the voice of Bob Shepherd will welcome a whole new generation of Yankee fans into a new arena that melds great new things to come with the incredible traditions of the past.
To think that something has somehow been lost, however, is missing the point. If something was lost in Yankee Stadium, it was long before now.
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