{"id":6,"date":"2008-10-02T09:24:00","date_gmt":"2008-10-02T14:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/2008\/10\/02\/october-1-8-2008-after-85-years-yankee-stadium-closes\/"},"modified":"2015-12-03T15:36:20","modified_gmt":"2015-12-03T20:36:20","slug":"october-1-8-2008-after-85-years-yankee-stadium-closes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/october-1-8-2008-after-85-years-yankee-stadium-closes\/","title":{"rendered":"October 1-8, 2008 – After 85 years, Yankee Stadium closes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Warm-up Question:<\/span><\/strong> Have you ever thought you did a good job following directions only to find out that you missed the bigger picture or objective? What were you doing? What were you were missing that was right in front of you the whole time?<\/span><\/tr>\n

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Derek Jeter stood on the mound with teammates to begin the final farewell. Over 54,000 fans listened, as many had for decades to the voices of great baseball players like Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle. The pre-game celebration included 21 retired players, six who are Hall of Famers, and the 92-year-old daughter of Babe Ruth who threw out the ceremonial first pitch.<\/span>
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Jeter encouraged the fans to take the memories from the old stadium to the new, which will be completed across 161st Street at a cost of $1.3 billion. While the new stadium will also be called Yankee Stadium, it just won\u2019t be the same for longtime fans, who lingered in the stadium after the game. Even Yankee staff and interns stayed as late as 4:00am the next morning as they struggled to let go of the traditions and past.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every aspect of the night was full of nostalgia, from Yogi Berra, now 83, appearing in a full vintage uniform, to the 1922 American League pennant being unfurled in center field. The Yankees have won more World Series than any other baseball team. The marquee outside the stadium simply read, \u201cThanks for the memories.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Roger Clemens was not invited to attend, nor was his name mentioned during the ceremonies. His name has been clouded by accusations that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
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But there was more to celebrate than not, and by the time the grounds crew dug up home plate in the early morning following the game, a picture of Babe Ruth winking played on the video board, \u201cSee you across the street!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n

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