Tale of the tape: Yankees vs. Pope
-
- October
- 8
So I was at Yankee Stadium last night for the first playoff game, talking to fans about the high cost of seeing Yankee baseball these days.
Being there was not unlike covering the pope’s visit to NY a couple of years back.
First you have to go through security and line up for your press credentials. Granted, security was not nearly as extensive for the Yanks as it was for B16.
Then you have to find some room to work, with armies of media people all around you. The media section at the new Yankee Stadium is much more comfortable and roomy than at the old stadium, but it’s still real crowded. The Japanese reporters alone, who follow Hideki Matsui’s every move, take up a lot of room.
The Yankees have a lot of people who assist the media. They are constantly bringing out stacks of paper—statistics, quotations from the pre-game pressers, background info. It was the same with the pope, but the Yankee people produce more stuff.
I had a bit more freedom to move around during the game than I did during a papal event. And that’s understandable.
Interviewing fans at Yankee Stadium is not all that different from chatting with the faithful at the old Yankee Stadium (where B16 celebrated Mass) or at St. Joseph’s Seminary, where the pope held a massive youth rally.
Yankee fans, like pope fans, were thrilled to be at the big event. But they often have trouble explaining why.
It’s obvious to them.
Who wouldn’t want to see the pope? Who wouldn’t want to see the Yanks in the playoffs?
What else? Pope followers wore special T-shirts from their parish, their youth group or the papal event itself. Yankee fans wear T-shirts sporting Derek Jeter’s name and number.
The papal events offered much memorabilia. But no one can compete with the Yanks when it comes to selling stuff.
Other than that, papal events and Yankee games each have some formality, serious moments, opportunities to cheer, and really loud PA systems.
And when they’re over, you have to wade through the crowd. It takes a while.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 1:18 pm by Gary Stern.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Print
| 
Email
The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene – weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
