And although the venue is the much celebrated and much more expensive new Yankee Stadium, two Philadelphia fans said it was like a cheesesteak on a hamburger roll. Yuck.
"Tampa's stadium was such a dump, but I'm not overly impressed with the inside of this stadium," said John Stevenson, a lifelong resident of South Philadelphia. "There's a lot of concrete. It's like the Vet. From the outside, it's nice. But inside, there's no atmosphere. If this was Philadelphia - Game 1 - the place would be on fire."
The Philly boys might have been a little harsh - or jaded from being around a sea of Yankees fans dressed in navy blue. The $1.3 billion stadium is a significant upgrade from the old Yankee Stadium. The concourses are larger and the bleacher seats aren't as remote as the ones at the other facility. The outfield scoreboards are magnificent.
Stevenson and his brother, Dan, sat in leftfield, a relay throw from Johnny Damon and Ben Francisco. Before the game, the brothers patrolled the area around the Bronx stadium wearing bright-red Phillies jackets, looking in vain for an interesting place to wet their whistles. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe they weren't in the right spot. Or maybe the 26 championships already won by the Yankees tempered the insanity.
"We went to two bars. Nothing. The overall vibe is flat," Dan Stevenson said. "When we were in Tampa, they were banging those cowbells, which was a pain, but at least they were into it. People here don't seem like they're into it."
Other observations:
