Yesterday was my first postseason game I have been to since the Yankees lost Game 6 of the 2003 World Series. So I will give you a rundown of everything that went right and wrong in my first playoff experience in the New Yankee Stadium.
The Good: With the weather looming and everyone wondering whether this game will be played, and it was. As the game headed into the eighth, ninth, and tenth innings the fans were living and dying with every pitch. Also, the Stadium looked and felt like October with the red, white and blue flags draped over each level on the stadium. Although it seemed like fans left late (which I will get to) people went nuts over A-Rod's home run and Hairston scoring the game-winning run.
The Bad: 49,900+? I seriously doubted that attendence. Maybe because of the weather that is how many tickets were bought and people did not use them, but there were quite a few, particularly the Legends Suites where there were plenty of empty seats. It was kind of hard thinking this was a playoff game when the stadium didn't have every seat filled.
Then when the rain came around the 10th or 11th inning, fans took cover, or left. I stayed in my seat in section 333, out in the light rain that last twenty minutes. By the time the game-winning run scored half the upper deck was empty.
The Ugly: The New York City subway systems. Boy, was I losing my patience with them. They made me miss the top of the first and the pre game ceremonies. I had to wait about 30 minutes for the D train to show up because for reasons unknown the E train was stuck at the 34th street stop. What it was doing going uptown to the Bronx is also unknown. It was no surprise the D train hasn't won the Fourth Inning Subway Race at all this postseason. It was more frustrating than watching the Giants play the Saints right now (Losing 41-17 in third quarter).
The Great: Another win, another walk-off, another pie. At the end of the day, all that matters is the Yankees winning. A-Rod's laser into rightfield to tie it was unbelievable. When the Angels took a 3-2 lead it was dead silent. Although some had left during the late innings, the remainder went nuts after we tied and won the game. The crowd was lound when it needed to be. Fans were chanting "Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!" on River Ave after the game. People were high-fiving each other on their way out of the Stadium.
I have tickets for one more game this postseason (Game 1 World Series) hopefully I get to go there, and hopefully my New Yankee Stadium record improves to 9-0.
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