Yankee Stadium Neanderthals

I debated on whether to write about this for a while, but ultimately decided I should address this. First let me say I am first and foremost a baseball fan. The Mets are my favorite team, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate and respect history and players from other teams. Yes, I do root against the Yankees, but at the same time I acknowledge their players and revere their history. How can any true fan of the game not honor the Babe, Gehrig, Mantle, Yogi, etc. (I don’t honor DiMaggio if you are wondering why he is not on this list). Over the last 20+ years I have been to well over a hundred games at Yankee Stadium, and while not my favorite place, I will shed a tear when the wrecking ball strikes its hallowed walls.

I have been to 15 major league and about 40 minor league parks and nowhere have the fans been worse than at Yankee Stadium, particularly those in the upper deck. It’s not even close. Do they get rowdy at Fenway? Yes. Obnoxious in Phlly? We all know this. Rude in Chicago? On occasion. Boisterous at Shea? You betchya. But in all these parks and others, I have never felt that I was in any physical danger for just being there. Meanwhile on more than one occasion at Yankee Stadium – most recently at the All-Star Game – I have been worried about my safety. Yes, I was wearing a Mets cap and jersey, and I know that some will say I was taking chances on wearing that up there. But why shouldn’t I be able to wear this, especially to an exhibition game? You would think I was wearing a Manchester United jersey at a Liverpool match.

I have seen some horrible things from these “fans” over the year. I was at the game against Toronto in (I think it was 85) when they booed the Canadian National Anthem. I’ve seen an Orioles cap taken off someones head and set on fire. I’ve seen women verbally abused because of how they dress or the jersey they wear. Worst of all, I was at the game where Clemens beaned Piazza. How did the goons in the upper deck react? As Mike was being taken off on a stretcher they were chanting “Bye Bye Mikey”

Don’t get me wrong, I know most Yankee fans are not like this. Some of my closest friends are Yankee fans, and we enjoy a great give and take. I am talking about the base level fan, which I have only ever experienced at Yankee Stadium.

Yes I root against the Yankees – but I would never disrespect their fans or their players the way I have seen those upper deck hooligans behave.