Opening Day Trauma
YANKEE STADIUM – For both the defending World Champions and the visiting Angels, the American League season in New York opens with traumas of different degree and seriousness. For the Yanks – particularly their employees and fans – comes the unexpected shock of seeing the old ballpark across the street in mid-destruction. It looks like the remains of a sunken ocean liner, and most of the heavy work has been done in the last week. “We stand here staring at it,” said a member of the team PR staff. “I was looking into my old office yesterday.” For the Angels the sadness is perhaps not as broad but certainly as pointed. This is the last stadium in which their late and beloved television announcer, my friend Rory Markas, broadcast. “We all thought about it,” said his ex-partner Terry Smith, “but none of us were prepared for it.”. Opening Day us supposed to signal renewal and hope in our sport, qualities that have seldom been as soothing as some of us here hope they are today.
Baseball Nerd 
I can see how that would be traumatic. I had a similar reaction when I saw this a couple of days ago. I was never a fan really, but it was incredibly sad to me. Sad, shocking, and disturbing. It upset me more than I would have expected. I have no love for the team (referring to my link, not your team), its owner, or the new place. My husband worked 11 seasons with this team, so there was that connection in addition to just the sense of tradition one gets from living in Dallas for 40 years. My sister and brother both had their high school graduations there. It was the starting point for my first 60-mile breast cancer walk. Heck, I even helped paint the home team’s radio booth there. So much for the history and memories. Boom! Pile of dust. Here come the tears again, darnit! Can’t help it; I’m a sentimental soul…some say just mental. 🙂
So, given your love of the Yankees, I cannot even imagine what this was like for you. Hey, at least you’ve got that locker! That is still one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, and this from a non-Yankees fan.
Enjoy the game!
(The commenter formerly known as jaidubya)
Well my link didn’t work for some reason, even though it did on the preview. Referring to http://bit.ly/cEYy1H implosion of TX Stadium.
KO, thank you for the mention of Rory Markas. He was my friend. too. Have fun today.
@jwin214 That’s an awesome clip…..implosion is much faster than how they’ve had to demolish Yankee Stadium. It’s always a shock to see an old landmark vanish, to exist only in photographs and memories…..and some wicked cool memorabilia, like that locker you got, Keith 😀
Hope the weather isn’t as bad as you tweeted it might be and enjoy the game 🙂 Oh, and try not to be too late for work 😉