A Reason to Cheer in December at Yankee Stadium

The New York Yankees season is filled with exciting days. There are home runs, ninth inning saves and rookie saviors. But the most exciting day of the year happened on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.

Yankee Stadium is an iconic building. It towers over the entire Bronx. It provides jobs to the local community, a source of pride for the residents and of course untold riches for the Steinbrenner family. The stadium feels like home for all Yankees fans but it is home for fans from that great borough.

And when you think of it, you picture it during the season: bright and warm and filled with activity. Even without a ticket, you would be drawn to it.

There are others who are also drawn to it. They are the poor, powerless, hungry and homeless. They are residents of the Bronx as well. The stadium calls them like a beacon, offering that same warmth. Always cold, always hungry, they cherish the light and the chance of human contact.

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But as they arrive, they only approach so far. Either embarrassed or afraid, they bask in the warmth but shrink into the shadows. They know they can only come so close before they are banished to the darkness. For all its appeal, the stadium–as well as the owners and fans–has little to offer them.

Caring is Sharing

But not Wednesday. On that day, Yankees Universe called them out of the shadows and into the light. This was the day of the annual canned food drive and a chance for every part of Yankees Universe to give back. And it all happened at the Stadium.

The Steinbrenners gave two tickets for every thirty pounds of food given. I am sure in the corporate world there are tax breaks and incentives for this behavior. But I am also sure they would do better financially by not being involved at all. So while they do get something out of this, it is far from commensurate with what they give.

The team takes part in the giving as well. Players and coaches show up to say thanks. Before we arrived, Joe Girardi and CC Sabathia were there. For the team, this is just one charitable event they participate in, so the lack of player turn-out cannot be held against them.

No, it is the fans who really made this day so special. They showed up to donate food for those who live in the shadows, though there is neither a team to cheer nor any rival to be vanquished. They showed up even though they stood to gain little. Yes, they get tickets to a game but they give something of far greater value.

Give and Take

In the age we live in getting tickets can be cheap and easy. There are seats that cost as little as five dollars. And you can order them from home. It’s a simple choice: sit in a nice warm living room and order tickets you will use on a nice warm day in June or bundle up, go shopping, and make your way down to Yankee stadium on foot, by car or subway. T

hen you can walk around in the cold looking for Gate Two while hauling more canned goods than you could eat in a month. Yes, you get tickets in return for donations but that is a thank you, not a reward. This is especially true when compared to what is given.

Of course the food is the most important. But the hope and the message of love is equally powerful. Life on the street is tough and perhaps the most difficult part is thinking no one cares about you and whether you live or die. Soon, all hope dies too. But not Wednesday.

On that day, all of Yankees universe had a chance to give the most powerful gifts: a message of hope and love. And of course you cannot send a message without knowing what it says. That means that you send yourself a message about caring and what the world can be, if we all just try. It fills your life and your Christmas with hope and joy, and isn’t that what makes life really special?

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A New North Pole: Yankees Stadium

And it all happened at the Stadium. I have often though that, stripped of all the activity and accouterments, it was a rather cold and austere edifice. Wednesday I found I was wrong. The day was cold but the stadium was filled with warmth.

Few lights were on but the stadium never was brighter. What happened on that day will bring more light and joy to more people than any walk-off home run. it will leave the residue of hope and love in every seat and in the heart of every fan.

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And maybe, just maybe, it will make the lights brighter and shadows smaller. It might make some of those who have the most needs feeler just a little warmer and provide just a little more hope.

Now that is something to cheer for.