Growing up in NY, you were never supposed
to be a fan of both these teams. My father was a
broken-hearted Dodger fan, but got on board with
the Mets. Therefore, I had been to Shea Stadium
many times in my childhood. (My niece Veronica’s
middle name is even Shea, in honor of the place!)
Oh, and I’ve always been a big Mets fan myself.
I didn’t become a Yankees-lover until I was
20 and hooked-up with my boyfriend of that era.
Luckily for me, Mr. X is one, too, so there were
no problems when I switched. (Boyfriends, not teams.)
But living out here since I was a teen-ager, rarely
spending summers in NY, and not having many baseball
fan friends there, I had never made it to Yankee
Stadium.
As this is the last year for both stadiums, (new
ones are being built for occupation in 2009), I
was panicked to make it to them before the wrecking
ball does. I knew since March that I was planning
to be in NY for the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium
in July, but never addressed the issue, not wanting
to bother anyone for help, and just hoped and prayed
that something would come up.
So, of course, I wound-up bothering everyone I know,
and even some I don’t! Some tried to help,
others didn’t answer at all, and most just
mocked me, but in a nice way.
Shockingly, it all came to pass perfectly, and before
I tell you about my experiences, I feel the need
to laud everyone who came through for me. So, from
the bottom of my heart, I give major thanks and
appreciation to the following fabulous folks: Mitch
Nedick of the CW Network, BettyEllen Berlamino of
WPIX , John-Paul Basile and Barb McHugh of the NY
Sports Museum, Howie Goldstein of Creative Cuisine,
Lauren Clarke of Vava Water, Bobby Zarin of Zarin
Fabrics, Paul Williams of Kobe Beach Club, Luc Robitaille
and Kehly Sloane of the LA Kings, JR of the NY Rangers,
Ken Braunstein of Power Crunch Bars, Ted Seifman,
and all others who tried to help me, which means
not the Yankees PR Department!!!
Not my best
look, except for the mini Mets helmet
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I had so much fun
at Shea! And, I got to see the Mets beat their arch-rivals,
the Phillies! The whole experience was great, especially
the Carvel ice cream in a Mets batting helmet. Oh
Ma Ga! The Nathan’s hot dogs they serve in
the stands were pretty good, too.
We had great
seats and seeing Jose Reyes hit a 3-run home run
was the highlight. I swear, I called it, too. My
friend, Ethan, is my witness. It was gorgeous.
The weird part is that even with my amazing memory
(which I’m grateful for every day), good old
Shea didn’t look anything like I remember.
Possibly because I was a little girl, or maybe never
had such good seats.
Shea Stadium
exterior
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The only thing
that I’m upset about is that the Mets organization
was kind enough to give me a press pass. I know
the heat of NY clouds my mind (seriously!), but
I didn’t think to ask what access it afforded
me until AFTER the game. What a jerk!
I could have spent the entire pre-game period
on the field, or better yet, in the locker room!!!
I could have posted pix of Jose and me in this
very space! But in truth, I never would have left
my friend waiting while I was so happily engaged,
so it all worked out okay. But just look for me
on the field, or in Jose’s lap, next season
at the new Citi Field!!!
Shea Stadium
from my seat
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This whole experience was something out
of a Vince Vaughn movie! Only, I never would have
believed it if I hadn’t lived it. I’ll
try to pare it down for you, but my mouth is watering
to tell the whole story with exact details on
my next show.
Karen with
the legendary Yankee, Whitey Ford
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A few months ago,
I went to a reception for Yankee legend Whitey
Ford’s memorabilia here in LA. Whitey couldn’t
have been nicer or spent more time talking with
me. He said he was sure that he was going to see
me at the All-Star Game and that I should run
out to the mound to give him a big hug. I told
him I wasn’t yet credentialed for the event,
and he said I should call the Yankees PR staff.
(I was planning on guesting on Fred Wallin’s
sports radio show to discuss it, as well as writing
this piece that you’re reading.)
I did and they told me that not only couldn’t
they accommodate me for the All-Star Game, but
said that there were no tickets for this whole
season! Meanwhile, they were giving out tickets
for the Home Run Derby all over NY to anyone who
walked by, and I watched every game in the month
I was there, and trust me, there were plenty of
empty seats.
My prospects of getting to the stadium were looking
bleak, but my friend Lauren invited me to the
Hamptons for the week-end, and said maybe I’d
meet someone there who could help. I forget to
mention it to anyone for the first day or so,
and then she took me to a party for Orphans International.
She introduced me to a man, Bobby Zarin, who asked
if I’d be in LA the next week-end when his
wife would be here. I answered, “I’m
not leaving NY until I get to Yankee Stadium!”
As he was about to say he might be able to help,
the caterer, Howie Goldstein (read about his Creative
Cuisine and the party next week in this column),
walked up and Bobby said, “This girl wants
to see the Yankees.” Howie said, “Okay,
I’ll take you. What night do you want to
go?,” and proceeded to tell me who was pitching
each night, which of course, I already
knew, too.
The back of
Derek Jeter on first base,
proving that he does, indeed, look better
in a baseball uniform than anyone in history!
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I couldn’t
believe it! Who ever meets anyone this kind???
(And I even looked not fabulous because, trust
me, it’s hard to be glam in the super-moist
Hamptons!) I chose Tuesday because that’s
the night they were giving out Derek Jeter Uno
decks! (I’ll wait till you all finish rolling
your eyes.)
I held my breath for the next four days because
rarely does anyone live up to their word nowadays.
But lo and behold, not only did Howie live up
to it, he picked me up in Brooklyn, with caviar
and Coronas, took me to dinner first, and got
me a gorgeous Yankee cap! And none of that was
even the best part!
Rarely do I follow behind anyone these days because
I’m more often than not the founder of the
feast. But I was more than happy to follow Howie,
and I wound-up doing it with my mouth open. (And
not just cause I was gasping for air in the oppressive
east coast heat, either.)
Me on the
field of Yankee Stadium!!! Finally!
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No exaggerating,
from the second we walked up to the entrance,
every single employee we passed said, “Hi
Howie” or some big greeting to him! And
that happened ALL THE WAY TO THE FIELD! I was
standing on the field watching batting practice!
I still don’t understand how, but there
I was! If I had known I’d be that close
to Derek, I might have eaten a lot less over the
past few months. But who woulda figured on this?!
And we watched the game from three rows behind
first base! I was so worried that I’d wind-up
interfering with the game somehow. (Trust me,
I’ve interfered with this team before, by
accident. You don’t want the details.)
Of course I got my Carvel in a Yankees helmet,
but this time I ate it from the members-only bar,
where of course the manager invited Howie into.
Nice to be out with such a popular guy. Who needs
the PR people when you got a new best friend like
this?!
 Some
pals who knew of my difficulties with the un-cooperative
Yankees PR staff sent me one of the best presents
ever--a DVD gift basket that included DVDs of
“Yankee Stadium, Baseball’s Cathedral”
and “When It Was A Game” Volumes I,
II, and III, along with a disposable camera, seeds
to grow grass for my own stadium, and tons of
candy.
I’ll tell you more about this fabulous company
in a near-future products column, but if you want
to copy my gift for someone this summer, here’s
their info:
www.dvdgiftbaskets.com
877-218-4438
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