Thursday, April 17, 2008

Two days in.

Yes, yes, I'm a terrible blogger. And more terrible still, no photos will be appearing in this blog post. Mainly because it's getting late and I want to get some sleep because the next three days promise to be insane. Good insane. But insane all the same.

So, let's see, the highlights so far.

1. Hit town and went to the Museum of American History, mainly because I wanted to see the Hayden Planetarium. Probably a mistake. When I got to town I was tired (about a week at that point since I had a full night's sleep) and the museum was wall-to-wall kids. Which is great....that's what museums are for. But I wasn't in the head space to enjoy it.

2. So from there, went to Central Park. That was a much better options. Spent about two hours wandering around, listening to musicians, lying on the grass, hugging a tree (long standing tradition when I come from the north. I hug a tree. I just do) and getting myself in a better head space.

3. The Yankees game was beyond awesome. It is the single greatest baseball game I ever attended....and I didn't even stay for the end. I was to exhausted and feeling ill to make it. But the game was at the 3.5 hour mark in the 8th inning and there was nothing left in the tank. What made the game awesome?
a. Red Sox fans in attendance actively mocking Yankees fans despite being horribly outnumbered by the vast drunken hordes screaming "Boston Sucks!"
b. Fights in the stands. Which is more dangerous than you might think, given how narrow the walkways are in the upper bleachers. It's very easy for someone to get hurt there. But no one did. It mostly taunting and yelling.
c. Lots and lots and lots of police.
d. Fans who were really into the game. I've been to Jays games and you couldn't tell who was winning from the sedate crowd noise. Yankees fans are into the game. They live and die with each pitch.
e. Insults - both at the players and the fans. "Ortiz you fat fuck!" Rameriez was called everything under the sun. And even Yankees were not exempt. When one player, who is hitting below .100 (and is a former steroid user) came up, people started screaming "come on Juice, get a fucking hit." Someone else drily commented that those number were good if you intended to retire this year.
f. But the best came when a foul ball came back our way. One guy made a grab for it and dropped it. Now, normally this gets you booed. But two guys razzed this poor bastard for the next two inning. "Jesus Christ, I hope your wife has got better hands than that." or "You suck. Your kid wants a new dad." Then, just when they're starting to let up on him, another pop foul comes into the area a few rows in front of where the last one landed. Except this guy catches the ball. He gets a cheer. The two guys start razzing the first guy again. "You see, that's how you fucking catch a baseball." Followed by the best line yet - "Your kid wants that guy to be his dad." I fucking lost it, I was laughing so hard.

4. Got to see Spamalot this evening, which was pretty good. Although it was a weird crowd. I'd figure there'd be plenty of Python fans in the audience, able to recite the dialogue almost word for word. And there were some. But there were lots of Clay Aiken fans (he plays Robin in the show). And they were clearly confused by some of the humour. But hey, it was amusing. And since Aiken's character is essentially a twat, the type-casting works for him.

5. And to the great sadness of some, I never got to see the Daily Show. The subway train I was on got stalled by the police (breaking up a fight) for 20 minutes. Then I got in the wrong line once I got there. I didn't know there was a VIP and a general admission line. I got in the VIP line by accident. So by the time I got to the end of the regular line, I was pretty well doomed. However, I'm now a VIP...they're people who tried to get in before and failed. So the next time I'm in New York (because that's happening again soon), I get priority admission. Bollocks.

Still, a good couple of days. And tomorrow begins con madness. I can't wait.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Craig:

I too will be in the Big city in June. The main draw is to see the Yankees and experience the crowds. Any advice on the best way to get tickets? I heard that there are legit ticket sellers in Times square the day of the game or also heard that it is better to purchase on-line??

I want to taste, smell and experience the blue collars of rabid Yank fans...any suggestions on where and how??

Tony

Anonymous said...

Dohhhhhh.....and it was a good show! We watched and swore we heard you laughing in the audience. :)

Glad the Yankee and Boston fans were on their best behaviour.

Enjoy the rest of the trip!
K

Steph said...

Awww, I was looking forward to hearing about the Daily Show! When's your next trip to NY? :)

towniebastard said...

Tony, I'm afraid I can't really help you. I bought my ticket literally 10 minutes after they went on sale back in February.

If there are legit sellers of tickets in Time Square, I haven't seen them. Doesn't mean they're not there, just that I haven't seen them. There is a company that does same day discount tickets for Broadway shows, but I don't think they do Yankees games. Also, most of the tickets for the season are sold already. So your best bet, rather than take a chance, is to get your ticket before you go. You might pay through the nose, but at least you'll get the freakish experience in all its glory.

Karin, I was pretty disappointed, but something happened today that made up for it. More in the blog post.

And Steph, Cathy's a pretty awesome woman, but I think I might be pushing my luck coming back again alone any time soon.

Steph said...

Does Cathy not like NY? Could it be a stop for the both of you in the future?

When you first posted about going to the Daily Show, I had hoped you'd go see Colbert instead but he was in Philadelphia.