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Where Dreams Come True Frank DiPatri 9/22/08
No, not Disney World, I’m talking about where real dreams come true. I’m talking about where any fan of the game or of sports in general dreams to see, in person, and step between the lines. Yankee stadium has been the location for all things sport for 85 years. From the 1-0 opener featuring a blast by the Babe to a 7-3 win over the Orioles ending on a ground ball induced by Mariano Rivera, Yankee Stadium was a haven for baseball.
The most history filled stadium to ever grace the planet. There wasn’t only baseball played in this monument but also the greatest football game ever played and the greatest boxer to ever live. It featured the most heart-felt speech the world has ever known that still makes me cry when I hear it. It has housed the best baseball teams in the game with the 1927 Yankees and the 1998 Yankees.
Everything about the stadium exudes grace. The bat outside, the façade lining the out field, the beautiful logo behind home plate, and especially the awe inspiring monument park behind the left field fence are reminders of what America’s pass time should be. Now it’s gone. The house that Ruth built is out of time. I know the new stadium looks remotely the same, but that isn’t the same center field DiMaggio, Mantle, and Williams roamed. That isn’t the same home plate that Yogi, Elston, and Munson caught at. That won’t be the same porch in left over which Aaron Boone hit a ball that will live in infamy. So, the team will move across the street. The doors on the old Yankee stadium will close, but for those privileged ones that saw Gehrig’s speech, Maris’ 61st, and Don Larson’s perfect game in ’56, those memories will live forever in their hearts.
As for me, I got to see four World Series titles, the best closer of all time, and the winningest baseball team ever, as well as my very special trip to the stadium specifically for a tour. I stood on the steps of the dugout where my idol, Bernie Williams stood for 15 years. I walked the same warning track as Paul O’Neil and Reggie Jackson. There may be a new stadium next year, and I may not be able to point to first base and say, “That’s where Don Mattingly played,” but I’ll still remember, and no one will ever take those memories away. That’s why for 85 years, Yankee stadium is where dreams came true. |
