On Location, The Yanks Versus the Tigers - Game 1

El Cid drops the guitar & picks up his Mac!

I've had my hands into a whole lot of things lately. As busy as I think I am, my son Cid Alex seems to be even busier. At the age of 24, he already has three years of college under his belt, plays for two bands, plays in a number of softball leagues, plays ultimate frisbee and still manages to have some semblance of a social life. I recently discovered he was going to the ALDS game 1, between the Yanks and the Tigers. My jealousy turned to pride when he agreed to be, "The Man On Location." Here's what he has to say about the game: 

For different people, October can mean many different things. To some, October signifies the coming of Fall. Leaves begin turning, the temperature drops, apple picking becomes a weekend activity. Others start getting ready for Halloween. All those nifty Halloween costumes begin hatching in early October. For me and the other loyal fan-base of eight successful Major League Baseball franchises, it only means one thing: Postseason Baseball. 

Now for the past two years, I have attended my first and second playoff games at the New Yankee Stadium, and I can assure you; there is nothing else like it. The atmosphere is buzzing with excitement. Every cheer and jeer is amplified at least twenty times louder than a regular season game. The fans understand this playoff tradition as well as the players. 

This is my third playoff game in 3 years. I bought tickets ($65) for Game 1, which was supposed to be played Friday night. You hear the commotion, as soon as you get off the subway. My buddy Pooch and I could both hear the buzzing coming from inside of the stadium. We’re like moths heading towards the light. “Let’s Go Yankees!”

Once inside the stadium, Pooch  and I go straight to the standing room only section, behind home plate. This is our tradition. Unfortunately for us, after 1½ innings, the game is tied at 1-1, and a heavy downpour delays the game. We are now like wet moths, huddled on top of a burned out light, trying to stay warm and dry by consuming more $12 beer. 

After another hour and a half, the game is called and rescheduled for the next day. Pooch and I head home, all tied up and buzz-killed. 

Game 1, Take 2

With a new guest (Pooch is on a plane and on his way to Greece), I head to the stadium. Now, the game begins where it left off, with Jorge Posada leading off in the bottom of the 2nd inning. 

With the game underway, I could bore you with the play by play but baseball is about what goes on between pitches. So here are some of my observations during the ALDS, Game 1. 

You count 'em!

1. One of my favorite games to play at the New Yankee Stadium is counting the advertisements. I give up every time. 
2. Jeter is a fantastic player. He made a spectacular relay throw, putting Detroit catcher Alex Avila out at the plate. I’m pretty sure nobody saw it coming except El Capitan himself. 
3. Whenever the stadium cameras browse the stadium, there are a few standard reactions. Either:

1. the fan starts cheering (“I’m on the big screen!”).
2. Or, the person has no idea and continues to do something utterly embarrassing (pick their nose, make a face, scarf down some sort of ballpark food, etc.). 
3. Or, the person has no idea and the person sitting nearby tells them they're on the big screen (they usually wave or look away scared).
4. I personally would do the "Macaulay Culkin, Home Alone" scream, until they cut to somebody else.

The Entrance Music

Home teams get to decide what music comes on when they step up to the plate; these are at most 30-second clips. Some players have one song the entire season. Mark Texiera has had “I Wanna Rock “ played his entire career as a Yankee. Jeter usually plays whatever the hottest hip/hop song is at the moment. Brett Gardner seems to get pumped up to country music (I’m not sure who it is he listens to, but maybe it explains the .260 batting average). Some players like to change it up, each at bat; so they give a mix-tape to somebody and tell them when to play what song. 

I know you’re wondering, so here’s my entrance music playlist for my 5 times at bat. Of course, I would be the leadoff hitter for the New York Yankees.

1^st At Bat - Where Ya Going – Gomez – The first 20 seconds of this song pumps me up every time. 

2^nd At Bat - Axilla Part 2 – Phish - One of Phish’s heavier songs, one of my favorites. 

3^rd At Bat - Thunderstruck – AC/DC – Nothing gets a crowd going like AC/DC.

4^th At Bat - When The Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin - The intro would sound amazing on the Yankee Stadium sound system. Every time I hear this song, I want to turn up the Volume to 11, no matter how loud it already is! 

5^th At Bat - Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta - Geto Boys-  This song is the perfect song to play at the end of a long hard fought game. It's super mellow, and would keep me calm under the most high-pressure circumstances. 

In my mind, I just went 5 for 5 with a walk off home run! Go me!

Back to the Game

The "Ruthian" Cano at the plate

1. Robinson Cano hit a grand slam in the 6^th inning. He’s a beast! Check out this Ruthian picture I took, literally 30 seconds before the blast!
2. The YMCA Song - With Detroit trailing 8-1 going into the 7^th, I realize how utterly annoying it must be (for the losing team) to watch the entire stadium, and the grounds crew jamming out to the YMCA song. I, however, am amused. 



The "Cheese" Brothers

3. Finally, the "Say Cheese Brothers…." These two SOB’s were in front of us and decided that anytime something important in the game happened, they would stand up and take a picture, while it was happening. Now, all their friends and family would know, they weren’t watching the game in their $175 playoff game seats, featuring a cast of at least 10 future Hall of Famers. 

The Sandman puts them to bed!

So the Yankees pulled off a 9-3 victory, despite having to bring in Mariano to clean up Luis Ayala’s mess and get the final out. I had a great time buzzing, cheering, jeering, and standing for the whole game. I  didn’t even once throw my beer at the "Say Cheese Brothers." Believe me, it was tempting. 

 ~ CR

Thhhheee Yannnkeeeees win!