Stadium Parking & The End Of An Era

The parking situation for the new Yankee Stadium is unfortunate but not surprising to me at all. Taxpayers always get the short end of the stick so why should it be any different when it comes to this? Years from now when the city finally starts to make a profit from the garages, this will all be forgotten.

There's one thing about this whole deal that won't be forgotten, at least not by me. If reports are correct, the player's parking garage will be attached directly to the Stadium. They'll be able to park their cars and walk right into the ballpark, avoiding the average fan standing outside, hoping for an autograph or, at least, a glimpse of their favorite player.

I came of age as a Yankee fan in the early 1980s. At one point I attended at least one game during every homestand. Each game was always the second thing on my agenda. The first thing I did on days there was a game was to get to the Stadium early enough to watch the players arrive. My friend Lisa and I would stand with other fans behind those blue police barricades and call out to guys like Don Mattingly, Ron Guidry and Dave Winfield as they got out of their cars and walked into the Stadium. Sometimes I brought my camera and took pictures, most of which came out blurry because the players were in a rush to get inside. As for autographs, I never got that lucky.

After the game it was the same thing. We'd wait about a half hour until they started to trickle out of the building. One day, after Winfield had had a bad game, a fan started mouthing off to him. Winfield looked over at the fan and said, "Kiss my ass."

It usually wasn't that bad. On most days, the players simply rushed by us, waving at no one in particular. They usually only stopped for children, especially if they were in wheelchairs.

Of course, this practice still continues today. I, however, don't participate. After doing it for several years, I started feeling silly. I haven't waited outside the Stadium like that in about twelve years. But now that this "era" is coming to an end next year, I just might show up behind the barricades for one last time, or two. Maybe this time I'll finally get lucky.

The Lady