I don't love New York. I'm not fond of either of their baseball teams, especially the fans of these two teams. I really had no intention of ever setting foot in their evil domain, but a friend of mine invited me to come.

I went on a chartered bus that my friend's mother's friend's group organized. We met at 9 am (in CT) to get on the bus, and all the Yankee fans showed up with beer and jello shots to go with their breakfast, so you can imagine what they were like by the time 1:00 rolled around. We had seats in the lower level behind third base, so the crowd wasn't too rough. I didn't wear any Red Sox stuff, but there were a couple of Red Sox fans in the rows in front of me. I did clap when we scored (and stand up for Manny's homer), but basically I kept it uncharacteristically low-key and didn't talk too much to anyone around me. I was sitting next to a guy who was there with his kids, including his 3-year-old son named Chad Curtis. (First name Chad, middle name Curtis. My friend chatted with them while I was in the bathroom. For all I know, his big sister was named Scott Brosius...) There was one Sox fan behind me who stood up and yelled "Yankee fans are the most arrogant and obnoxious people ever!" which of course didn't go over too well. (They had a real clever and witty response: "1918." Hmmm, never heard that before - how do these brilliant people come up with this stuff?) He also delighted in pointing out how we passed up Mussina (who didn't make it past the fourth that day) to get Manny (who homered). I normally don't leave my seat during games, but I had to get up in the 8th inning and visit the restroom. When I got there I found a girl throwing up in the stall next to mine. On the way back I passed a couple of college-aged Red Sox fans posing for pictures. With the Yankee Stadium field as a backdrop, one kid turned around, grinned, and stuck out his middle finger, while his buddy snapped the picture. Just trying to capture the feeling of being in New York, I suppose.

Thankfully, the game was a good one - the Sox won, 8-3, as Frank Castillo outdueled Mike Mussina for the second time in a week. (The two had matched up in the Patriot's Day game in Fenway five days earlier, with the Sox winning then, too.) It turned out to be the Red Sox' only Yankee Stadium victory of 2001, so I sure picked the right day to go. Good thing, too, because it'll be a while before I feel the need to go back!