And now some more from Kat O'Brien:"I can't wait, I am fired up," Andy Pettitte said of the Stadium he has never seen live. "I am like a little kid at Christmas. I will probably go in there [last night] when we get home."
After spending a winter seeing pictures of its development and talking to people who have been inside, Brian Bruney wasn't waiting until today.
"I am going [last night]. I can't wait any longer. It's like Christmas," the reliever said.
A.J. Burnett hasn't been inside since his December press conference to announce his signing, and he couldn't wait until today to see the park.
"I can't wait," said Burnett, who also planned to visit last night.
Mark Teixeira, who hasn't been back since a press conference in January, is anxious, too.
"We are all excited to break camp and to go to a new stadium is icing on the cake," Teixeira said.
"I think everyone's extremely excited to see it," Girardi said Wednesday before the Yankees' final Grapefruit League game. "I'm sure a lot of guys will walk in it tonight instead of maybe just going to their cars and getting to wherever they're sleeping tonight. I'm extremely excited."John Rodriguez, who did not make the opening day roster but will be on the roster for the two exhibition games had this to say:
...
"It's going to be pretty special, opening a new stadium," Posada said. "The last time they opened a stadium was [1923], and this is pretty much like that. If we look back a couple of years from now, it's going to be meaningful - who hit the first home run, who got the first base hit, all that first stuff."
Said Derek Jeter: "I think everyone here is excited about getting up there and seeing it."
"It's what I've always dreamed of, being a little kid and watching it on TV," he said.To me the new stadium is going to give more to the players than it will to the fans. Sure, there is a lot on new stuff for fans to do (besides watching the game) that was not available in the old place, better food, a museum, more shops, all that junk. But the amenities for the players are even more impressive than the amenities for the fans, and much more necessary.
"I'm just hoping I'll be the first of something good," Rodriguez said.
7 Comments:
Your comment at the end is contradictory. Aside from the history of the old place being left behind, albeit considerable, everything in the new place is superior and will make the fan experience much more enjoyable, even if you are just going to watch the game.
Aside from the premium seats, the prices for the new place aren't "outrageuos" compared to the old place as some claim, in fact they are quite comparable.
Of course there are some slights to the fans, like the seat reassignment due to the smaller upper deck, but all in all the experience at the new stadium will far exceed the one at the old place.
Although I have to say that not hearing Bob Sheppard anymore is going to be difficult to deal with. I know he wasn't around last season, but his absence wasn't certainly permanent, the way it seems it is now.
I am looking forward to the new place. I have to wait till April 20th.
I just think the advantages for the players will far outweigh those for the fans.
I agree Greg. Hopefully it will be an advantage for our players, which in turn will create new memories for the fans.
Greg the advantages to the players FAR outweigh the advantages to the fans. Mr Anonymous is obviously taken in by the fancy bells & whistles Trost has thrown out there. The new place is beautiful to look at, but it's got plenty of blemishes. To me the big one is that the real baseball fan can't afford to sit in those field boxes, so he will be farther back from the field, MUCH FARTHER in the case of everyone who used to sit in the upper deck. If you like to spend oodles of money on all that fresh food, or like to oohh and aahh at the marble exterior, or if it somehow makes a very big impact on you that the frieze is on top of the stadium where it was before 1974 instead of around the bleachers, then good for you. But I am more realistic.
On Sheppard, yeah, I'll miss him too. But the guy is 98. Time for a change. If he comes back to announce, he's putting his health in danger, people should think about that. Anyone really want him there on an April -47 degree- day or a July -95 & humid- day? I don't think so.
Hey, Mr. Anonymous Bells, Whistles here... just want to try and understand why people who have the money to afford seats close to the field are not "real fans." That's a stereotype that gets old and irrelevant more and more each day.
The truth is, most of the seats from the main level on up are pretty affordable. Of course the average middle to low income earner won't be going 15-20 times a year, but those folks weren't doing that in the old place anyway. And bleachers seats are $12. And obstructed seats are $5. Buy those and walk around the place and catch the entire game from every angle in the place. Or buy the $20 SRO seats and do the same. This idea that the "average fan" is priced out is kind of silly. Going to baseball games is a privilege and a luxury, not a right. But the opportunity to enjoy all the niceties the new place offers over the old one os there for all fans. Add in the added convenience of more mass transit options, seems like a win-win to me.
Fans and players will have tons of amenities, but its really not important. What's important is that the game experieice will be much improved and accessible.
Just so you know there are many things I don't like about the new place, i.e. smaller UD, CF restaurant, ads over the aux scoreboards, but the positives of the place far outweight those. But if you just hate the place, I guess that's fine to.
I'm not saying that there are no real fans down on the lower levels. Of course there are. But there are also many fans down there who show up in the 3rd and leave in the 6th. And even more of those types of "Fans" will be sitting in all those new luxury boxes.
Those are the fans that piss me, and I'm sure many other people, off.
Post a Comment