I heard something from Ron the other day which I never expected to hear. After four holes of golf he remarked, "Huh. You and I are tied."
Wow. I was still in the game after four holes played.
Of course, a full round of golf is 18 holes. Things soon returned to normal. The Earth resumed spinning on its axis, and the angelic choir went for lunch. The New York Yankees took control of the Chicago White Sox and that was that.
Ah well. It was still a day out of the office. Beautiful golf course too.
In my blog post yesterday I remarked on how hard it is to wear a Yankees cap. I have one; I buy a team cap when I visit that team's stadium, so when seeing Yankee Stadium I dutifully bought a Yankees cap. I've only worn it that one game day, however.
I posted the blog online, which prompted a Facebook friend (actually a real and honest friend in real and honest life!) remarked, "So you don't want to wear the cap from the best baseball team in history?" Though put forth in some humor (I assume) just as my post was meant to be a bit in jest, it's a good question. So today I'm going to answer the question and then thoroughly overanalyze that answer. It's what I do.
I love Yankee history. That is not snark on my part. The childlike attitude of Babe Ruth which comes though warts and all is fascinating; it makes him a real man, not a simple myth. Whose eyes don't well up at that famous 1948 picture of him the last time in uniform at old Yankee Stadium, weeks before he died? There will never be, in any sport, a Number 3 like him.
Lou Gehrig's stoic resolve in the face of terrible personal tragedy is more than admirable. It's a lesson in how to handle adversity.
Then there's Yogi Berra. You gotta love him. He's Yogi! When you come to that fork in the road, take it!
The quiet confidence of Joe Dimaggio; the sheer talent of Mickey Mantle; Aaron Judge on the current squad is a monster. I mean that in a good way, seeing how he plays. Yet he maintains a certain humility which is laudable especially in this day and age of athletes waving their own flag (a disease which increasingly turns me from sports). I'm just acknowledging the tip of the iceberg here, that you get the point.
But then, well, they're the Yankees. They've been a powerhouse for most of their history. And that's where the ages old American rooting for the underdog affects the picture. It can be hard to cheer for a team (if you're not from New York, anyway) which so often appears to buy their championships. That's not entirely fair; particularly in years gone by you had to have a good staff to find talent. But that also requires money, which the Yanks always had plenty of.
My point is there's the dichotomy of the rich versus the poor at work here. You see that in the musical Damn Yankees. It's a great musical by the way, which only uses Yankee dominance as a backdrop to a good moral lesson, a good human story. But it serves my purpose here.
Yankee fans will yell 'jealousy!' and rightly so, so far as it goes. At the end of the day, that's a lot of it. But again, Americans like underdogs. The Yankees aren't.
There's my overindulgent response. Yankee history brings chills. The Yankees as a team? Well, I'm a Detroit Tigers fan first, foremost, and always. Ya dance with the one that brought ya. That surely colors my judgment.
He's back! Marty's back in the D, attending the grindstone after a fitful four days (I love alliteration) in New York City.
I always get a baseball cap as a keepsake when seeing a new baseball stadium. This weekend we were at Citi Field, where the New York Mets play. It was a lot easier to wear a Mets cap than a Yankees one, I'll tell you what.
No offense Yankees fans. It's just, well, it's the Yankees.
It certainly is vibrant; at least, the areas I saw were. Lots of people, lots of small businesses, and lots of activity. I know of nothing like it in Detroit. I'm not saying there aren't parts of the city where similar traits exist. Even if there are though, they don't exist to the degree they do in New York.
Yankee Stadium is lovely. It is one great baseball park. I still prefer the classic stadiums such as Fenway in Boston (nothing personal, Yankees fans, and I'm not trying to trip your triggers either) but the new Yankees park is well built. You're reasonably close to the field wherever you are, and the sight lines are fantastic. After seeing it and PNC Park in Pittsburgh, you really understand that Detroit messed up badly with Comerica. I don't quite get why they played 'New York, New York' after a Yankees loss though.
St. Patrick's Cathedral is a gem. I'm glad we went there for Mass.
Times Square was pretty crowded. It was a summer Saturday evening when we walked through it though. I can't imagine what it must be like on December 31st. I don't think I want to know either.
The Oculus is awful; four billion dollars for what amounts to a shopping mall. It looks like a massive skeleton which has been bleached white by desert heat. I read that it's supposed to be a dove extending its wings. A hideously oversized, very dead dove maybe. Plus it's entirely incongruent to downtown Manhattan, where it's part of the World Trade Center. I don't see it as anything more than a monument to hubris quite frankly.
The prices weren't all that bad. Other than the shops which were clearly aimed at the more affluent, and you find those everywhere, I thought that the grocery, restaurant, and cost on general amenities comparable to what I find in Michigan and its surrounds. I do gather that housing and parking can get expensive. Fortunately, that did not affect me.
I don't know if I could live there. There are just too many people, the metropolitan area is so spread out, and the sensory overload of the town can be staggering. But I definitely like New York City. I look forward to my next visit.
What I really don't like about that though is that it's supposed to get up to 88 today. Rain in the morning followed by sun usually means hot, sticky weather. I like it better when it rains late.
New York City is interesting. I don't know that I could ever live here; there's just too many people, and that coming from someone who considers himself a people person. But there's definitely stuff I like. The neighborhoods, well, the one I'm staying in anyway, does seem vibrant and alive. I doubt there's a comparable one in Detroit, and I do find that a little sad.
Stores and businesses abound; there certainly is variety. And the traffic isn't really that bad. Again, at least not where I am; I'm not trying desperately to get to a home an hour or two away. It isn't particularly noisy either. I had expected noise.
We're going to the Yankees game this afternoon. They play the Texas Rangers. It is, in a certain manner, my favorite kind of baseball game. I don't particularly care about the outcome. Interestingly, that makes it easier for me to watch any given sport: not actually caring who wins.
But tomorrow I'll let you know what happens anyway.
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