NEW YORK — Well, rookie, ready for your big moment?We're talking to you, Yankee Stadium. The newcomer with big shoes to fill.Yeah, you have your wide aisles and your new seats, your Hard Rock Café and your sushi. You even have a women's team store down the right-field line — and even better, a toilet fixture ratio that is lower for women than it is for men, and don't the ladies appreciate that.But now you also have a World Series. You know how that runs in the family. Across the street, Yankee Stadium Sr. is a hulking echo of a place, reminding us of a famous aircraft carrier that has been decommissioned. But it saw 37 World Series and was home to 26 champions. Your walls are covered with the pictures of men who became legends playing there.You're aesthetically pleasing, and all that. You even have a Great Hall.A Great Hall? Are the Philadelphia Phillies coming to a prom?But you're not somebody in this town until you've hosted a championship, or maybe a dozen of them. The information sheet says you have about the same seats as the old place but are 63% larger. Good. Walking through the hallways of your predecessor had the ambience of trying to pass through a U-boat.It says you have an art gallery somewhere. More than a thousand high-definition monitors. A steakhouse, with a ribeye that lists at $51.75. At that price, the steer's name must have been A-Rod.But you don't have the ghosts of autumn. No late-October memories yet. That begins today.This is your first World Series game. That retiree across the street hosted 100. The New York Yankees won 64 of them – and one was a perfect game.Your first home run came from Jorge Posada. Not bad.But your father figure across the street, his first home run was hit by Babe Ruth. Feeling intimidated yet?And then there's your reputation with the men – at least the guys who homer. There's no diplomatic way to say this. People have gotten the idea you're easy.You served up home runs the way McDonald's serves up Happy Meals. The Yankees played eight games this regular season without hitting a baseball out of the park.But we're here to inspire you for the coming week, not nitpick.The players claim they feel the same magic. "I couldn't say that in April," Posada said, "but with the way we've played, the way we've come back to win games, I think the aura and mystique and everything are back."I know times have to change, and so must ballparks. George Steinbrenner bought the Yankees 36 years ago for $8.7 million – lock, stock and pinstripes. Now, nine Yankees make more than that in a single season.And let's be honest, the old stadium – rest in peace – had lost a step. You don't remember how its final World Series ended. That was in 2003, and you probably weren't even a twinkle in the architect's eye yet.The Yankees were shut out by a bunch of guys from Florida. Clearly, the old world was ending.So here you are, modern and ready for your true coming out party. If you're the house that George built, how nice would it be to give George one more title? He's not getting any younger.Just so you understand your expectations.It was raining Tuesday. In October, if the Bronx had 10,000 more trees and were 40 degrees warmer, it'd remind you of a tropical rain forest. Since they spent $1.5 billion to build you, maybe a few more monthly payments for a retractable roof might not have been the worst idea. Wimbledon did it. But then, you couldn't be a clone.
NEW YORK — Well, rookie, ready for your big moment?We're talking to you, Yankee Stadium. The newcomer with big shoes to fill.Yeah, you have your wide aisles and your new seats, your Hard Rock Café and your sushi. You even have a women's team store down the right-field line — and even better, a toilet fixture ratio that is lower for women than it is for men, and don't the ladies appreciate that.But now you also have a World Series. You know how that runs in the family. Across the street, Yankee Stadium Sr. is a hulking echo of a place, reminding us of a famous aircraft carrier that has been decommissioned. But it saw 37 World Series and was home to 26 champions. Your walls are covered with the pictures of men who became legends playing there.You're aesthetically pleasing, and all that. You even have a Great Hall.A Great Hall? Are the Philadelphia Phillies coming to a prom?But you're not somebody in this town until you've hosted a championship, or maybe a dozen of them. The information sheet says you have about the same seats as the old place but are 63% larger. Good. Walking through the hallways of your predecessor had the ambience of trying to pass through a U-boat.It says you have an art gallery somewhere. More than a thousand high-definition monitors. A steakhouse, with a ribeye that lists at $51.75. At that price, the steer's name must have been A-Rod.But you don't have the ghosts of autumn. No late-October memories yet. That begins today.This is your first World Series game. That retiree across the street hosted 100. The New York Yankees won 64 of them – and one was a perfect game.Your first home run came from Jorge Posada. Not bad.But your father figure across the street, his first home run was hit by Babe Ruth. Feeling intimidated yet?And then there's your reputation with the men – at least the guys who homer. There's no diplomatic way to say this. People have gotten the idea you're easy.You served up home runs the way McDonald's serves up Happy Meals. The Yankees played eight games this regular season without hitting a baseball out of the park.But we're here to inspire you for the coming week, not nitpick.The players claim they feel the same magic. "I couldn't say that in April," Posada said, "but with the way we've played, the way we've come back to win games, I think the aura and mystique and everything are back."I know times have to change, and so must ballparks. George Steinbrenner bought the Yankees 36 years ago for $8.7 million – lock, stock and pinstripes. Now, nine Yankees make more than that in a single season.And let's be honest, the old stadium – rest in peace – had lost a step. You don't remember how its final World Series ended. That was in 2003, and you probably weren't even a twinkle in the architect's eye yet.The Yankees were shut out by a bunch of guys from Florida. Clearly, the old world was ending.So here you are, modern and ready for your true coming out party. If you're the house that George built, how nice would it be to give George one more title? He's not getting any younger.Just so you understand your expectations.It was raining Tuesday. In October, if the Bronx had 10,000 more trees and were 40 degrees warmer, it'd remind you of a tropical rain forest. Since they spent $1.5 billion to build you, maybe a few more monthly payments for a retractable roof might not have been the worst idea. Wimbledon did it. But then, you couldn't be a clone.
