Thunderstorms, Bleachers & Food

On Thursday the New York Yankees won their season opener against the San Francisco Giants, 5-0, with a spectacular pitching performance from there ace, Gerrit Cole. Last December, for my birthday, my wife and son surprised me with Yankee tickets for Saturday, April 2. First pitch, 4:05pm. Our first game of the season!

But wouldn’t you know it. The weather forecast was not promising. Rain was predicted. Great! Possibly heavy at times. Super! Thunderstorms expected towards evening. Terrific! We waited over three months for this day, for what? To get soak-n-wet by rain? Hah! No problem. That’s why they sell ponchos. 

We left at 1:00 for the sixty minute drive from New Jersey to New York’s Yankee stadium. My wife packed a few pre-game snacks to munch on in the parking area, and of course, my son took care of the beer.

The sixty minute excursion stretched to almost eighty. We knew that when projected attendance is 47,000, every fan tries to outsmart the next by leaving early. We left even earlier. This wasn’t our first rodeo!

We pulled into the parking garage, at 161st Street. Proceeded to chug down a beer, paid the kings ransom of $47 to park the car and walked across the street and into Yankee Stadium, sometimes referred to, The House That Ruth Built.

The interior of the stadium is adorned with hundreds of photographs of past and present players capturing the glorified history of the Yankees. So many of these photographs brought back memories. Seeing the gritty Yankee captain, and All Star catcher Thurman Munson in a photo before his tragic death in 1979, to my favorite Yankee of all time, #23, Don Mattingly, to me is a part of baseball history and Yankee lore. One of my favorite photographs was a billboard size black and white, probably from the late 50’s of Yogi Berra, Billy Martin and Mickey Mantle in the clubhouse after a game lounging back. Two of the players with a cigar in hand, the other a can of Rheingold beer. Awesome.

We walked the stadiums inside promenade and headed to our seats. But not before having to make the decision… what are we going to eat? The food venues have the traditional, hot dogs, knishes, popcorn and pretzels. But this is 2023. Now your able to order sushi, (my father-in-law would turn in his grave if he knew sushi was served), cheese steak sandwiches made with black angus rib eye, (I won’t tell you the cost of the sandwich), gyros, burritos, garlic bread, chicken tenders and waffles, burrata burger, steak topped fries, lobster mac-n-cheese and on and on. If you’re not a baseball fan, and reside in the area, you can purchase the cheapest ticket and just go there for dinner, the menu selections are outstanding.

I settled on the Brisket Sandwich: Smoked for 20 hours and seasoned with a salt-and-pepper based rub. My son grabbed The Hot Bird Sandwich: Chicken breast, spicy chica shake, slaw, and house made pickles and my wife, she chose, Pork & Broccoli Rabe Cheesesteak: Tender pork shoulder, marinated broccoli rabe, sharp provolone, Bronx-baked hero bread. A couple of Stella Artois, and we were set for the first pitch.

We settled comfortably in our seats, third level with a panoramic view from the right field side of the entire playing field. The green grass of the infield and outfield were separated by the dirt around the bases. Blue skies were picture perfect being that the rain held off, and the sun shone gloriously on the crowd. 

The Yankees took the field on the top of the first inning, and soon after, the “roll call” commenced with the Bleacher Creatures chanting the names of Yankees players in the field. They will continue the chant the players name until said player acknowledges them with his own unique salutation response. A tradition that began by chance in 1998 has been a staple at every home game since. The loudest chant by far was for Anthony Volpe, a twenty-one year-old rookie, fan, coaches and organization favorite. His salute to the creatures… pinching his jersey with the Yankees interlocking NY on his chest and giving it a kiss! The crowd eats it up!

Approximately ninety minutes later, in the fourth inning my wife wanted to know what was next on the carte du jour? After a brief discussion, my son and I embarked on our food run. I stuck with a traditional foot-long chili hot dog to which I added mustard, relish and sauerkraut. A real gastrointestinal nightmare, but it tastes so good. My son opted for: Chicken Wings: Slow-smoked, fryer-finished, tossed in a chili-lime sauce, toasted sesame seeds, scallions, cilantro. And my better half chose: Falafel: Served with falafel, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, and pita bread with two side sauces to dip. 

When the game ended, we blended in with the swarm of fans exiting the stadium and arrived at our car. Though we survived the game without a raindrop, those ominous dark, grey clouds were beckoning to explode. And they did, the entire ride home.