Let me start out this way... for the last decade I have been a Red Sox fan. I am not from Boston nor am I from New York. I embraced the rivalry like a family member or an additional appendage. I love my Boston Red Sox and I hate the New York Yankees but my hatred for that particular ball team does not reflect how I feel about the Stadium that has hosted the "evil empire" for the past 85 years. If anything the loss of Yankee Stadium is almost another reason to dislike the Yankees.
As a Boston Red Sox fan I hate, yes, Hate to see Yankee Stadium Go.
Yankee Stadium started it all. It redefined the ball park in every single way. From the design to the capacity and even the name. When the stadium was built in the early 20's many baseball teams played their home games in a ball park or a field, like Fenway Park or Wriggley Field. Yankee Stadium was the first to be recognized as a stadium. While parks and fields traditionally held 30,000 plus fans, Yankee Stadium was built with a capacity doubling any competing ball park. It was the first three-tiered sports facility in the country and one of the first to incorporate an electronic scoreboard.
Yankee Stadium was the first of it's kind. The United States may have little to claim when it comes to ingenuity and greatness in the field of architecture but for some Yankee Stadium might create as much awe and allure as the Roman Coliseum.
Yankee Stadium is the home to quite possibly the greatest sports franchise in the modern era. If you measure greatness by success and in America, most people often do then the Yankees are the cream of the crop. The Yankees have have won 37 of their 39 American league pennants in Yankee Stadium. They have hosted the World Series 37 times and at 26 have more titles than any other team, both numbers more than double their closest competition in Major League Baseball. Over thirty hall of fame baseball players have called Yankee Stadium their home and the pin-stripes their uniform. Some of the greatest if not the greatest ball players like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle have worn the Yankee pin-stripes.
Outside of baseball, Yankee Stadium has been a host to boxing matches, soccer, professional and college football games, religious ceremonies and concerts.
the famous, "win one for the Gipper" speech was given in Yankee Stadium in 1928 during half time of the Army-Notre Dame football game. The "Greatest Game Ever Played" between the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts was held in Yankee Stadium. A game in which the Colts took home the championship and Johnny Unitas cemented his legacy and helped reinvent the quarterback position. During the 70's Yankee Stadium was home to the New York Cosmos which suited soccer's most memorable name and figure, Pele. Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali have all fought inside the boxing ring in the center of Yankee Stadium. When the Brown Bomber Joe Louis fought Max Schmeling in 1938 more than boxing and championships were at battle but ideologies and social politics were at odds.
Three popes have held mass in Yankee Stadium. After his release from prison Nelson Mandela held a rally for New Yorkers, Americans and those in need of inspiration to overcome great odds. Musical acts ranging from the Isley Brothers to U2, Paul Simon to Pink Floyd have performed in the house that Ruth Built.
What happens next? Yankee Stadium will eventually be no more. The Yankees next year will have a new home, right next door to their existing one but it is impossible to suggest that any future stadium can replace or even compare to Yankee Stadium. Yankee Stadium was not made famous by Babe Ruth or by the Yankees. It was not made famous by Bono or Roger Waters. It was not made famous by Knute Rockne or Joe Louis. Yankee Stadium was made famous by the American People. Yankee Stadium holds a legacy like few people, few places and few things in United States of America. Baseball, America's past time has no greater venue than Yankee Stadium and we are at loss by its closing.
Nothing great lasts anymore and with the closing and eventual destruction of Yankee Stadium I worry that along with its legacy so goes the history held within its field, stands and concrete walls. The United States of America does not have castles or very many ancient ruins to celebrate. With a history less than 3 centuries old the U.S.A. has few buildings that capture the memories and imagination like Yankee Stadium. What does it say about our society today that we unlike many societies before us choose to tear down our history for something new, flashier, possibly better and more economically sound? I hate to see Yankee Stadium go. I hate that I will never be able to take my children or grandchildren to a game. Maybe I am simply selfish but when a huge part of American history is destroyed I think we should be upset and should contemplate how we are all missing out by Yankee Stadium's destruction. I suppose the only thing to hope for is that the next Stadium that houses the Yankees or whatever team or sport played within its boundaries can create such a legacy as notable as the one existing in Yankee Stadium.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
oh MTV... what happened?
So… apparently the MTV VMA awards were a week or so ago. I didn’t watch them, did you? I don’t care if you did but for some reason several of my friends have asked me if I had viewed the so-called award show wondering what my take was. With this in mind I still refuse to watch the VMA’s because it is an insult to my intelligence and a waste of my time. I’d much rather watch reruns of the Dog Whisperer or Iron Chef America. There is a great deal of things I would rather watch than the VMA’s like paint dry, babies crying, another (not funny) Dane Cook comedy special or C-Span.
By the by, doesn’t a video award show on MTV kind of seem like a joke? The only times I have seen videos on MTV is when flipping thru channels and catching a video on MTV classic or MTV rock or MTV hip hop. Videos are no longer part of the programming except for the occasion ninety second clip on the hopelessly annoying TRL. MTV should no longer be associated with music television but be renamed media television or teenagers and young adults desperate for fame television.
If this blog seems at all bitter it is because MTV at one point was the trend setter. It was the mode, the beacon, the signifier, the bar for what was cool when I was growing up. When I was a little boy till about my teenage years I wanted to be on MTV because you met cool artists, went to awesome concerts, needed little talent to be a VJ and partied like a rock star. Back in the early 90’s it was a channel not obsessed with reality TV but created cutting edge shows and annimation. It revolutionized music as well as spring break, the x-games, fashion and even politics. It might be wrong of me to insist that MTV could have held onto its influence forever because nothing ever really does but I do believe that MTV could at least be relevant. It was once the voice of a generation and now is nothing more than a sad state of affairs with dating games for teenage rejects, dating games for celebrity losers, kiss ass commentary and the promotion of bland musical acts.
But maybe this is not the cable giant’s fault. Maybe bad television or reality television and a lack of music videos is now the voice of this generation. Why play music video’s when there is YouTube or why create television when you can exploit the youth of
Am I being a bit dramatic here, quite possibly but understand this MTV became popular during a very critical time in many people’s lives. The dream of the 80’s was dying and for some it was never really a dream at all. The 90’s were upon us with Generation X not only looking for jobs or definition but a place in history as well. I cannot compare which was a worse time in history for some Americans, then or now but now is certainly a time when the youth of
Maybe I believe too strongly in the power of music. That music can be the voice of the people, educate and promote ideas not widely expressed by other forms of media. Music can be a powerful thing and at this moment, well for the past decade or so, music has lost one of its greatest outlets and that is MTV. If the music industry wants to save itself maybe it shouldn’t blame the internet or teenagers for illegally downloading music but should blame MTV for failing to promote musical acts.
Now I could care less about the VMA’s. I don’t care if Britney Spears makes a comeback of if she has lost some weight. I don’t care if some video which is never played on MTV wins 7 awards that have no value other than self promotion. And I am not stupid enough to think that if you do watch MTV or the VMA’s that you are shallow or could care less about things that really matter. It is not one way or the other. You are not an idiot if you watch MTV and you are not a better person if you ignore it, even though I like to think that I am a better person by not watching. Entertainment is key to a thriving metropolis. Entertainment is vastly important but maybe entertainment should do more than just put a smile on our face, a shake in our rump and fever in our hearts but also put a spark in our brain. MTV at one point provoked discussion even if it was simply about music and discussion leads to debate and that provokes thought and intellect.
In the end, MTV was once pretty awesome but unfortunately is now nothing more than a constant string of product placement and celebrities lacking personality. MTV was on the cutting edge because it informed the youth of
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
HealthCare - There Must Be A Better Way.
A couple of weeks ago I was assisting in an operation that would allow air conditioning to cool my house. In with the new furnace and out with the old but the old furnace is rusty and heavy. Three large and burly men lift this old and rusty furnace to the back of a truck and in the process, I, this large and burly man (ha… ha) was cut and scratched. A tetanus shot was now needed. It had been years since my previous shot. I went to the local emergency room because I was not entirely sure of how to handle this situation because I did not have a tetanus shot on my person at the time.
So I go to the emergency room and they do the normal check up routine. My weight, height, blood pressure as they try to discover if anything else is ailing me. They ask for my degree of pain, from 1 to 10. I feel that a score of 2 is appropriate. I sit in a chair for a while. The nurse cleans my wounds and puts an antibiotic cream to prevent infection. The doctor would then administer the shot and then tell me that the emergency room trip was a little drastic because there is about a three day window from getting cut to needing a tetanus shot. Was I supposed to know this? Annoyed slightly, not by my lack of knowledge but by the condescending tone of my doctor. So other than my doctor being a prick, a professional that feels a tetanus shot is somehow beneath him, my rush with death or lockjaw was not horrible. I did not have to wait horribly long to get treatment. The nurse was friendly and polite and I did not have a co-pay. Yay.
In the end the clerk took my insurance card. Yes, I have insurance now. Six months ago this would have been a rough situation. She took my insurance as well as other information and I was good to go. No muss, no fuss.
Wait, not so easy. This week I got the bill. I thought I was fine. My insurance company sent me a notice suggesting that the matter was all cleared up. A portion of my insurance was taken out to cover the medical expense. Yes, the portion of my insurance covered 10% of the medical bill. The bill for one tetanus shot, a little bit of antibiotic cream and my blood pressure measurement costs just as much as three insurance payments.
So, the bill was $350. Yes, for a sad little part time retail employee this is a lot of money. I pay $110 monthly for my insurance plan. This is an insurance plan that was recommended to me in case of a serious accident or emergency. You never know what can happen this day and age. My insurance plan was also recommended for the scope of coverage and it’s low cost. If you are like me then you are thinking – I got screwed. To be honest I cannot really afford a better insurance plan. I cannot really afford to get more tetanus shots. Thank goodness this last shot will last me five more years. If you want to think of it this way… $70 per year to protect me from tetanus but that doesn’t make my wallet feel better or thicker.
Now, I might have had strep throat and because of this possibility, I reside between a rock and a hard place. Since visiting the doctor was so expensive I might find a better answer for my illness at Wal-Mart than a hospital. Is that right? Is it right that Wal-Mart might take better care of me than a hospital? 9 months ago I was ill with sore throat, body aches, fatigue and a fever. I was lacking health insurance and I had heard rumors of how well the clinic inside Wal-Marts benefit those who are ill. A visit to a Wal-Mart medical center cost me $28.
I am not saying that we need government or national healthcare even though maybe we do need government regulated health care. I am not saying that we need to completely retool or rework the healthcare system even though maybe we should. And I am not saying that health insurance is worthless even though I am. Something has to change.
When discussing the issue of national healthcare or government healthcare most people who don’t need it seem to scoff or believe that such a proposition is either absurd or a waste of time. “National healthcare doesn’t work,” they say. Why do people think this way? Why cannot health care be a careful balance between private and government insurance, aid and care? Why aren’t we doing all we can to improve a system that is clearly flawed? Next time you laugh at the proposal of national healthcare think about the millions of people that have it far worse than I do. I want you to laugh or ignore the 47 million without healthcare along with the many helpless children than cannot fight infection or disease. Laugh and scoff at those who do have healthcare but are suffering through more serious illness than a tetanus scare or strep throat and cannot afford constant care, prescription drugs or major surgery.
Maybe all this is my fault. My fault because I do not have a decent job that pays me well to afford quality healthcare. It is my fault because I do not have a job that offers me healthcare coverage. It is my fault because I don’t wash my hands enough or drink enough orange juice. It is my fault because I am not immune to every sickness or disease.
If all this is my fault because I squander opportunity then please tell that to the millions of Americans who squander their chances for better jobs and medical coverage. After all a majority of Americans have healthcare, the 1 out of 6 Americans struggling should take more responsibility for themselves by getting better jobs and accepting the flawed system that is currently in place. I am not that heartless though and I think a better system must be put in place.
So… in the end, can you look me in the eye and tell me that this system works or can there be something better? I think we can do better.
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