It's Called Yankee Stadium, Not Ranger Stadium

Yankee Stadium has been home to the New York Yankees since 1923 and has landed its place as one of the most historic sports venues in the world.  From serving as host to some of the greatest baseball players of all time to holding the proudest fans in sports, Yankee Stadium is truly a special place.  At the end of the 2008 season as you all are obviously aware of, the Yankees will be moving into a new stadium just across the street, making this the last year the team will be playing in Yankee Stadium.  Unfortunately, the last sound ever heard on these hallowed grounds before it is demolished will not be of an umpire calling an out, it will be the sound of a buzzer signaling the end of the third period in a hockey game.  This is so because it is very likely that the New York Rangers hockey team will be playing an outdoor game on New Years day 2009 in Yankee Stadium, making this the last event ever hosted in the illustrious ballpark.  Closing Yankee Stadium with an event other than a baseball game would be a tremendous insult to the Yankees and their great history.

Love or hate the Yankees, either way, anyone would agree that Yankee Stadium is one of the greatest venues in sports.  An awesome thing about Yankee Stadium is the feeling of excitement a fan gets.  It doesn't matter how old the fan is, it doesn't matter which team the fan is rooting for, just being able to sit down in the famous blue seats of Yankee Stadium is a moment that would stay in anyone's heart.  Among the main contributors to this feeling are the sights and sounds that a fan sees and hears before them.  I have been a Yankee fan for 18 years and one of the most memorable moments of my life is the first time I stepped foot into Yankee Stadium.  I watch Yankees games on television all the time, but actually being there and witnessing a live game is so much more special.  The beautiful green grass, the freshly surfaced infield, the anticipation from the fans, and the smell of beer and hotdogs floating through the air are so incredible.  This literally brought out all of my emotions.  It doesn't matter what kind of high definition television you have, it doesn't matter if you have a deluxe surround sound package set up, nothing can mimic the beauty of being inside Yankee Stadium.

Yankee Stadium has been home to many legendary baseball players.  One of the most recent ones is team captain Derek Jeter, who has been the face of the New York Yankees for the last 12 years.  I feel that Jeter should be the last player to appear in Yankee Stadium, ending the ballpark's great history with one of his amazing fielding plays or classic clutch hits.

Some of the greatest baseball players have rounded the bases of Yankee Stadium and some of the best moments in the sport have taken place there.  My personal favorite is Aaron Boone's walk off homerun in game 7 of the 2003 ALCS.  Even though I am no way affiliated with the Yankees, it proves that all the classic moments are much more than just great sights in baseball history, they are happenings that affect people and make them feel special, even though they had absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of the game.

The first time I went to Yankee Stadium, I arrived at the ballpark three hours early just to watch the players walk from their cars in the parking lot to the clubhouse entrance.  Sure it was an event that lasted for about only one minute, but when I have kids and tell them stories about all the great things that have happened to me, I can proudly state that I stood next to the men I grew up idolizing.  Because hockey could be closing out Yankee Stadium, all the great moments in the Yankees' history feel like they are going to waste.  Watching these players walk by me is such a special moment in my life and to know that it will be erased with an irrelevant hockey game upsets me more than anything.

Closing Yankee Stadium with anything else other than a Yankee game will upset fans everywhere.  I would never go to Yankee Stadium to watch an event that isn't a Yankees game because it would not feel right.  Hosting other events there just does not fit.  Other events have taken place in Yankee Stadium, such as New York Giants football games and a couple of U2 concerts.  I am a die hard Giants fan and I do enjoy U2's music, however, I would still be very offended if any of those events closed out Yankee Stadium.

Yankee Stadium does not need hockey.  This ballpark is already legendary and is one of the most historic stadiums in the world, so there is no reason the Yankees should allow this game to occur.  Playing this game will only force Yankee Stadium to end its illustrious history on a bad note.

In the last 85 years, only a few other teams have used Yankee Stadium as home, most notably the New York Giants from 1956 to 1973.  However, it has always belonged to the Yankees; the Giants were simply just borrowing it.  I personally wouldn't have a problem with the Rangers playing a game in Yankee Stadium, just as long as it's not the last event to take place there.  Because the Rangers will be the final team to close the curtains at Yankee Stadium, it is as if they are stealing the Yankees' home.

What most people don't understand is why playing this hockey game is such an issue and why finishing Yankee Stadium's history with something other than a Yankee game is insulting.  To help make it clearer, I will explain what being a Yankee fan means.  Being a devoted supporter of the Yankees is something much more than just being passionate about a sports team.  The best way to describe what being a Yankee fan means to me is by comparing it to religion.  I am not very religious by any means necessary, and while I do enjoy being Jewish, Yankee baseball is the closest thing to me that I call a religion.  The Yankees players are my rabbis, Yankee Stadium is my synagogue, and the game being played is my time of prayer.  Watching these games is when I feel relaxed and get in touch with what I am most passionate about.  Now you tell me, how would you like it if your Sunday service were interrupted by a hockey game?

While hockey might be an entertaining sport, it is also a dying sport in America.  Hockey has been decreasing in popularity more and more each year in the USA and hosting this game in Yankee Stadium is simply nothing more than a publicity stunt in attempt to re-raise Americans' interest in the sport.  It is offensive for the last game in the stadium to be a hockey game because Yankee Stadium is not getting the proper conclusion it deserves.  There will probably be a big crowd at the game and a lot of people will have a good time.  However, once this game is over, hockey will go right back to the same place in most Americans' hearts it was before the game starts, fourth, right behind baseball, basketball, and football.  And even though baseball will be making tons of money from this game, it should not be done at the expense of the Yankees closing out their own ballpark.  There's a reason it's been called Yankee Stadium since 1923.  It's because it's the Yankees home, and having a hockey team getting the honor to play the last game there is just not right.