We knew going in that yesterday's game was likely to be postponed, but we had access to the highly regarded Audi Yankees Club waiting at the Will Call windows, and wanted to snag them up for use at the rescheduled game. The lovely girlfriend was on hand, meaning we had the pleasure of her company and also the opportunity to chronicle what we saw with some photos. We'll be a bit less wordy today and let the photos tell the story, if you
Since we had access to the Audi Club, we got to enter through the fancy Gate 2, otherwise known as the home of the silver George Steinbrenner statue. Unfortunately the girlfriend was having no part of us posing for lewd photographs, denigrating the statue. Disappointing. An uppity elevator ride later and we were at the entrance of the uppity Audi Yankees club. Welcoming us at the door was this lovely menu:
For dinner with a couple of big eaters it might be worth it. For a guy and his light-weight girlfriend, it just doesn't seem like a worthwhile investment, especially for lunch. Since we weren't eating, we were banished from any part of the "club" that had a view of the field. Essentially we were in an upscale bar, and and a cramped one at that.
If you decide to look on the bright side, the club also offers $140 tickets which include all you can eat food and actually have a great view of the field. Definitely not for those on a tight budget, but if you want some guaranteed value out of your tickets, go with these. Plenty of good seats are still available:
Five minutes shuffling around the "club" uncomfortably was enough for us, so we headed out to see what else the rainy stadium had in store for us.
The public areas were cramped, as would be expected with everyone scrambling for cover from the rain. The Nathan's was especially crowded:
So was the Carl's Cheesesteaks (what else is new):
But if you wanted a cold one from the [plopped in the middle of nowhere] "Beers Of The World" stand, there was no need to wait:
Taking a peek at this sign gives you an idea why people aren't lining up:
$11 for a 16 oz. Blue Moon on tap? PASS.
Many others made the same choice regarding Famiglia's $5 slices of cardboard covered with cheese and sauce:
It was great to see the Yankees infuse some life into an area that we had previously deemed "concrete-jungly," and so boring that we had stopped the live stream - even if the tables and chairs were a bit of an odd couple:
Once in the upper deck, it was apparent that we should have brought our galoshes. Apparently $1.6 billion doesn't buy you drainage in the upper deck:
Try as they might, sweeping water around without a drain nearby just won't cut it:
Even though we knew that the game wasn't going to start, we were sick of dodging puddles, and we didn't want to head home yet. So like those around us with covered seats, we decided to sit down:
Good thing the Yankees were making use of the huge hi-def monitor that probably accounted for a large chunk of the $1.6 billion dollar stadium:
How else would we have known what was going on? The tarp on the field and the water pouring from the sky might have been a bit too subtle for some.
Right around 2 PM, the Yankees put us all out of our misery and postponed the game. Just before the announcement was made, they actually did make use of the huge video board. A five minute video featuring a chef from the NYY Steak restaurant took center stage, showing off some delicious-looking lobster mac 'n cheese (this is the second time we have been tempted by this) and the creation of some creme brule (we're too lazy to figure out how to put the accents in over the e's). As tempting as the offerings were, we continued to resist the urge to spend our hard-earned money on the Yankees' new and exciting food options - at least on this rainy Sunday.
Some more skeptical folks might accuse the Yankees of taking advantage of their loyal fans and allowing them to spend money on concessions while knowing all the while that the game would not be played. We'd like to think that even with a forecast as bleak as today's was, the Yankees were simply doing all they could to squeeze the game in. After all, the Angels won't be coming back to town. At the very worst, the Yankees knew that many people were likely making their first trip to the new stadium and wanted to give them a chance to check out the new place, even if the game was going to be canceled.
As of now, the makeup date for this rainout is not scheduled. With an exciting start like today, we can't wait to resume our adventure. Hopefully the makeup game isn't played in Anaheim!
