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Alan K. Stout
The new Yankee Stadium officially opens tomorrow, and I can't wait. Though I won't see it in person until May, I'm treating just watching Thursday's game on TV as a major event. Sure, I loved the old Yankee Stadium. Every Yankee fan did. My first trip there was in 1976, the year it reopened after an extensive remodeling, and I don't even know how many times I've been there since. I'd say about 100. Opening Day, Old Timers' Day, double-headers, playoff games, World Series games ... I've been to them all, and I loved them all.
(Funny, but the guy I seemed to bump into whenever I was at The Stadium was Weekender editor Mike Lello. He obviously loved the place, too.)
Tomorrow, the Yanks open up the new joint, and despite plenty of affection and nostalgia and lots of memories at the old place, I am totally embracing the new one. I've already read very article I've seen on it, I've looked at dozens of photos in the New York newspapers, and I've watched a TV special on it. And it looks fabulous. And -- most important -- it's my team's new house. And the first time the Yanks tango with the Red Sox next month, and the place is filled with energy and venom, it will really officially be ours.
Some naysayers have poo-poohed the new stadium, saying it's too big and grandiose, and that it cost too much, and that it's over-the-top in its decadence. Blah-blah-blah. Are you kidding me? It's the Yankees. It's supposed to be big and grandiose. It's supposed to be the best. Personally, I always feel bigger is better. I'm a guy that roots for the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys and loves bands like KISS, Springsteen and U2. My favorite city is NYC, and even in my own life, people that know me know that I don't do too many things in a low-key way. If I'm going to do something, I'm going to try and do it big, and I tend to like people and things that do the same.
The new house of the Yankees opens tomorrow.
It's big, loud and proud.
Haven't even been there yet, but I already feel right at home.
Play ball.
About the Author
Alan K. Stout is the music columnist at The Weekender and has been covering rock and pop music in NEPA for more than 15 years. His column, "Music on The Menu" appears every week in The Weekender.
Alan has won a Keystone Press Award for Excellence in Journalism for his music coverage and has been voted Northeast Pennsylvania's "Favorite Newspaper Columnist" seven times.
Alan's interviews include conversations with Billy Joel, Steven Tyler, Eddie Van Halen, David Bowie and Ray Charles. He also wrote the liner-notes to the entire Motley Crue catalog, he is the host of the monthly "Weekender/Mountaingrown Original Music Series" and is the founder of NEPA's annual "Concert For A Cause." He also hosts a weekly radio show, "Music On The Menu Live," which can be heard every Sunday night at 8 p.m. on 102.3-FM, The Mountain.
In addition to his work with The Weekender, Alan also serves as the Newspapers In Education Manager at The Times Leader.