Every fan has a sports dream. It could be something as simple as watching your favorite team play their most hated rival or it could also be as extravagant as going to the Super Bowl. Last Friday (my birthday), I was able to realize my lifelong sports dream when I visited Yankee Stadium.
I’d been planning to attend a game there since I was a teenager but never put a timetable on it, so there was never a sense of urgency. I thought they’d be playing in THAT stadium forever. However, since we live in a sports world dominated by corporate sponsors and luxury boxes, Yankee Stadium as we know it has just become too old. If I was going to see a game there, I had until September to do so. I decided it would be a birthday present to me and luckily they were playing a good team in the Los Angeles Angels of Beverly Hills Anaheim Orange County California, or whatever it is they call themselves these days.
The game went by rather quickly since no runs were being scored. And to think I was terrified that Sidney Ponson was the scheduled pitcher. He pitched a really good game, matching Ervin Santana pitch for pitch. When the ninth inning started, no one had scored and curiously Joe Girardi brought Mariano Rivera in from the pen. Of course the crowd went nuts because he’s the best pitcher on the team. Unfortunately, the cutter wasn’t cutting on this night and by the time he was finished, the Angels had a 1-0 lead (and in a game like that, one run seemed like four). Francisco Rodriguez (the last person I wanted to see), who’s on pace to save something like a thousand games this season, entered in the bottom of the inning, and the rest is history.
Other than the fact that the Yankees lost and I spent, like, $150 on memorabilia, I truly enjoyed the experience. If you have the opportunity to realize your sports dream, you should definitely take it.
Visit C.C.’s blog at http://coco-vents.blogspot.com. C.C. can be reached at cfelicec@yahoo.com.
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