The game was not so bad as I feared, although the seats were. At least it didn’t rain. Actually, the view from the upper reaches of the upper deck is breathtaking. Great if you like vertigo, but the players look like ants. An old-school National League game. Pods got a homer in the 2nd, Mets finally tied on a sac fly in the 7th, then new guy Derek Bell made a winner of Leiter with an 8th inning solo shot. Benitez closed it out. Downright terse.
I thought the crowd was rather subdued, for an opening day with potential. Even the vulgar chants seemed a bit half-hearted. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been to a couple of opening days, and this one was lacking in electricity. And eccentricity. There’s no shortage of young fans, but they seem to be taking their queues from mtvspn crowd reaction shots. Truly inspired drunkenness was missing. I suppose the opening day crowd is not truly representative, but Shea could use a little more juice.
I’ve always found Yankee Stadium to maintain more baseball tradition, not just in its trappings, but in its fans, as well. More people watching the game harder. More old-timers with stories. More nerdy youngsters looking to catch foul balls. More scorecards. The Mets are pretenders to the Dodgers’ legacy, and the National League led the way in integration, but it seems to me that I’ve also seen more people of color at the Stadium (not that that’s saying a lot). Maybe it’s just the difference between a legendary team, and a team with a few legendary moments. In America, you can at least root for a winner. Even when the team is losing, the Stadium betrays the smugness of the overdog, while Shea remains a bit provincial (read Long Island).
The ever intensifying commodification of sport is making all audiences more homogenous, but a winning team, a little too much beer, and sun, may still serve to bring out the local spirit. I’m just not sure I want to be there when it happens. Ahh, but on TV...say are the Yankees on after this NCAA thing...?
|
I thought the crowd was rather subdued, for an opening day with potential. Even the vulgar chants seemed a bit half-hearted. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been to a couple of opening days, and this one was lacking in electricity. And eccentricity. There’s no shortage of young fans, but they seem to be taking their queues from mtvspn crowd reaction shots. Truly inspired drunkenness was missing. I suppose the opening day crowd is not truly representative, but Shea could use a little more juice.
I’ve always found Yankee Stadium to maintain more baseball tradition, not just in its trappings, but in its fans, as well. More people watching the game harder. More old-timers with stories. More nerdy youngsters looking to catch foul balls. More scorecards. The Mets are pretenders to the Dodgers’ legacy, and the National League led the way in integration, but it seems to me that I’ve also seen more people of color at the Stadium (not that that’s saying a lot). Maybe it’s just the difference between a legendary team, and a team with a few legendary moments. In America, you can at least root for a winner. Even when the team is losing, the Stadium betrays the smugness of the overdog, while Shea remains a bit provincial (read Long Island).
The ever intensifying commodification of sport is making all audiences more homogenous, but a winning team, a little too much beer, and sun, may still serve to bring out the local spirit. I’m just not sure I want to be there when it happens. Ahh, but on TV...say are the Yankees on after this NCAA thing...?
- alex 4-04-2000 4:01 am