New York Yankees - August 13, 2016

When I was growing up, some of my uncles LOVED the New York Yankees. I grew up with tales of Maris and Mantle, DiMaggio and Babe Ruth. So I was pretty excited to see my first game at Yankee Stadium.

Let's start with the positives. We got to spend time with family. Lee's second cousins Evy and Lenny joined us for the game. They are such kind and wonderful people. Visiting them was the highlight of our time in New York and New Jersey. We also go to see two rookies (Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez) hit back to back home runs in their first at bats in the MLB. Everyone was cheering and shouting for these young guys.  What memories they made!

And that's it for positives. We were so disappointed in Yankee Stadium. To be fair, it was literally 100 degrees that day and we sat in the sun for the first two innings. We were sweating in places I didn't know had sweat glands. It's hard to enjoy ANY game when you are that hot.

Yankee fans are brutal. They are loud, rude and vocal. It would be one thing if they reserved their ire for the visiting team, but they are equally likely to turn their fury on their own players. Having grown up in the passion surrounding Michigan/OSU games, I'm familiar with some good trash talking, but some of the things being said at the game were not things you really want your 12 year old hearing. That kind of environment is not really for me.

The food, sadly, was just meh. NYC is a culinary mecca, but that doesn't seem to have translated much to the stadium.

The stadium felt a little corporate and soulless.  I wish I could have been to a game at old Yankee Stadium. I've heard it was a lot like old Tiger Stadium, which holds happy memories for me.

Sorry, Yankee fans. Your team has an epic budget and a passionate fan base. But give me Fenway any day.