No Sausage For You!

I don't think I've ever gone to a Major League Baseball game and had a "bad" time, and Wednesday night's Yankees game was no exception.  The contest between the Yanks and the Oakland A's was filled with longballs (five home runs, two each for Nick Swisher and Coco Crisp), some impressive defensive plays and well-pitched games from both C.C. Sabathia and Trevor Cahill.  But while the game itself was entertaining, the stadium experience left a lot to be desired.  From the poor concessions to the oversaturation of in-stadium advertising, the new Yankee Stadium disappointed me once again.

First, the concessions.  Everyone who's been around Yankee Stadium knows that all the good food offerings are located on the main level - the upper level concourse features only generic stands that sell basics like hot dogs, sausages and pretzels (for the most part).  Fortunately, I'm not a picky eater and usually go with a hot Italian sausage at a game anyway, so I went up to one of the concession windows marked "Sausages" and placed my order.  A mysteriously angry employee told me that they were out of hot Italian sausages, which was perplexing given that a) it was prior to the game's first pitch and b) the stand only had about three items on the menu to choose from.  When I got my replacement item (a sweet Italian sausage, the poor man's hot Italian sausage in my opinion), it was a combination of cold, burned and soggy.  For $8 I expect at least a little quality control, but Yankee Stadium takes your money and offers as little as possible in return.

Once I got over my terrible purchase, I had to sit through three hours of Yankee Stadium in-stadium advertising.  In addition to the signage plastered all over the field, every single aspect of the game was sponsored by one company or another.  Most stadiums have sponsors for featured in-between-inning promos such as trivia games and the "Kiss Cam," but the Yankees take it to an entirely different level.  Every stolen base was sponsored by Modell's Sporting Goods and accompanied by the trademark Modell's jingle.  The player stats on the Jumbotron featured a giant Majestic logo in the corner, and each of the three Yankees home runs was sponsored by Geico.  For a team as concerned with "tradition" as New York, you'd think the Yankees would have enough respect for the game to lay off some of the sponsorship excess.  Unfortunately, not the case.

Bad food, too many ads - and an awesome view.

There were some good deals to be had, though.  Thanks to StubHub I scored tickets in my favorite area - upper deck behind home plate - for just $15 each, and we had a great view of the stadium on a near-perfect evening (see above).  While baseball can never be "bad," the Yankees seem to be doing all they can to milk every last penny out of their fans - regardless of the negative ramifications on the fan experience.