Welcome to the majestic new Yankee stadium. Where even out in the bleachers there is food that costs more than your ticket.

Now in truth, the seats are mine. (YBNBY has corporate seats for Cricket matches only.)
My seats cost $12 a piece. At the big food court, one section away, a double burger costs $12. (A single is $9) If you want small fries that'll be another $5. But all proceeds go to feed CC Sabathia so I'm okay with it. Good thing I swiped a $20 from Johnny's wallet as we walked in.

In my seats at the old stadium, my ticket cost about a hot dog and beer. Now, $12 buys a pretzel and a small Pepsi. Hey Pepsi, that's great! It is officially the choice of the new Yankee stadium. That I like. (Johnny is a coca-cola man, he's not happy about the Pepsi. He buys a bottle of water.)

Now I can think of no better place to be on a Friday afternoon then a ballpark.
The sun was shining and it was 72 degrees with a light wind. Perfect baseball weather.
In the bleachers, the sun is always strong. That meant we got an early start on a Spring sunburn.
My arms are still bright red as I type this.

In case you don't know, Yankee Stadium has a reputation for being a rude, profane place. This reputation is well earned and has been crafted over generations.

The bleachers are the heart of this profanity. All the vulgarity flows from here.

It's a place where kids can learn the important phrases like "Fuck you." "Fuck off. "The ump's a fat bastard." And how to chant "Asshole. Asshole. Asshole."

The bleachers at Yankee Stadium might be the only place in America where one learns, despite its historical importance in American history, that "Boston sucks."
This anti-Boston chant was repeated often. So often, that I believe if you are ever in danger near the stadium, all you have to do is yell "Boston Sucks" and people will come running to your aid. (As long as you don't have a Red Sox shirt on that is.)

Now Johnny is a more outgoing person than me and he made friends with a few people in our section. Not sure if they'll be lifelong friends of his but I'll leave it to him to tell you about them. Hopefully he will because he had me laughing all game.

As for the game, well, it was fantastic. Everything Thursdays opener was not.

The Yanks hit 5 homers. Mr. Clutch, Derek Jeter invited in the ghosts of the old stadium to the new one with his 8th inning, game winning homer. Then they cued The Sandman and Mariano Rivera made his first official entrance and saved the game.

Everyone in the bleachers went nuts. Lots of high-5s and fist bumps. This was a much different reaction than the folks in the corporate seats ($1200-$1500 per seat). A few of them cheered but mostly those seats were empty the whole game.

No matter, after 6 seasons sitting in the upper deck at the old stadium, I kind a liked my new location. The bleachers are going to be a lot of fun. Even if the action on the field isn't.