Anyone attend, or planning to attend the Fan Fest?

[stevejrogers]

If you haven't, and you are in the area and can make it, you should, its quite a fun expereince.

Got some photos from it on the first couple of pages of my Flickr Photostream



http://flickr.com/photos/stevejrogers

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I got tixx to this shindig tonight and will head over there soon. If this sucks I'm going to inform the Yankees to pull Rogers' Tuesday-Friday plan at the new place.

[Guest Grote15]

No I'm not going

Is Rogers a Mets or Yankee fan?

Or the classic " A fan of the Game'

Sorry Steve,,couldn't resist

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Grote15 wrote: No I'm not going Is Rogers a Mets or Yankee fan? Or the classic " A fan of the Game' Sorry Steve,,couldn't resist

Man, you even take making fun of Steve's Yankee-bent and make it seem lame.

[Guest Grote15]

OlerudOwned wrote: ="Grote15"]No I'm not going Is Rogers a Mets or Yankee fan? Or the classic " A fan of the Game' Sorry Steve,,couldn't resist Man, you even take making fun of Steve's Yankee-bent and make it seem lame.

Thank you..Thank you very much....

[stevejrogers]

I'm still waiting for an explanation for calling me a traitor for munching on some genuine Philly cheesesteak before a Mets at Philly game.

[seawolf17]

Mmm... cheesesteak.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Revoked!

Baseball as consumption. Sponsor ballwashing.

Fun for kids, I guess.

[stevejrogers]

Ehh, guess you aren't big on memorabilia and interesting artifacts up for auction as well as the interactive stuff.

[Guest AG/DC]

SteveJRogers wrote: I'm still waiting for an explanation for calling me a traitor for munching on some genuine Philly cheesesteak before a Mets at Philly game.

To whom are you talking tonight?

[stevejrogers]

Grote.

[Guest AG/DC]

Then good luck on waiting.

[stevejrogers]

Uh, yeah, I've been waiting since two Saturday's ago!

Not sure if he was calling me a Phillies fan or what with that blast.

[G-Fafif]

Peer pressure -- at least that wrought by running into people carrying those DHL bags everywhere I turn around the last two days -- got to me and I bought tix for Tuesday before it folds its tents. Let the corporate ball washing commence!

Or continue!

[Guest themetfairy]

MK and I were there yesterday. It was ok, but VERY MFY oriented (but you can be assured that when the All Star Game comes to Citifield, these same people who insist on making this a monument to MFYdom will insist that the FanFest should honor both New York teams). There were a lot of cool exhibits, but there were also huge lines. MK was disappointed that the clinic with Gary Carter had closed out, and the autograph lines were insane (the players were only there for two hour shifts, but the lines were rumored to be 3-5 hours long, so if you were standing on line you couldn't be assured for whose autograph you were waiting).

It was an interesting experience. And I'm sure I'll want all of the merchandise when the All Star game is being held on our field. But overall we didn't love it the way that we expected.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yes, I volunteered to work this event years back when the game came to Philly (96) with the idea that I might wind up with All-Star Game tickets. Instead I discovered they drew like 1 or 2 winners from among hundreds of volunteers so no All-Star Game for me, but a violent stomache virus I obviously caught from 10 million kids who came to the particular batting cage booth I was working.

There are great second, third and fourth chapters to this story I will get to whenever I get the nerve to tell them.

Anywhoo, I got free tix to this year's event from a neighbor who works for one of the sponsors: I can't imagine paying for the experience. Strawberry was signing but the lines were long and I didn;t even get a look. Also, Wade Boggs (Hey! You blew me off in the Orioles locker room in 1999!), Steve Sax, Craig Nettles, and some other douche (yes, all former MFYs).

Dave Winfield was being interviewed by Chris Myers and the audience as part of a private VIP thing with drinks and food: The poor suckers on the outside, including me, could watch it, literally, from bleachers, but were not allowed into the "Good seats" and were allowed to particiipate in Q&A in an arrangement so much like the sharp and widening division between folks who will view games live and those resigned to watch it on TV at the stadiums now going up it was scary.

Lots of other MFY stuff on display, a few fun-looking things (batting pitching, fielding, running stuff; a call-your-own-play booth; trivia, etc) but mostly commerce. Food at stadium prices. Some nice oil paintings on display but be sure to bring $12,500 for each one you admire. Full array of tastelessly designed All-Star and Bon Jovi official MLB-Licsensed merchandise at insanity pricing.

[soupcan]

Modell's has a few kiosks set up in Grand Central hawking All-Star memorabilia (hats, shirts, etc..). While I am loathe to buy anything that has even the most subtle Yankee signage on it, I did buy a pair of wrist bands to send to my boy at camp. I was stunned, STUNNED, to find that the wristbands were only $6.00. I was expecting $10-$15 at least.

[Guest AG/DC]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: There are great second, third and fourth chapters to this story I will get to whenever I get the nerve to tell them.

There's got to be a chick involved. At least one, am I right?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Two!

[Guest AG/DC]

You are so transparent.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Yeah and if I could only momentarily lose consciousness I'd spin it all into gold.

[Guest themetfairy]

At one point we were approached at FanFest by a young woman who must have been trying to get us to take a survey or something, and she asked whether we wanted a free DVD. Before I even noticed what it was, MK politely but firmly declined. It turned out it was the Yankee Stadium: Baseball's Cathedral DVD.

BTW, Strawberry was at Footlocker on 34th Street yesterday. After we left FanFest I took MK to the Empire State Building, and on the way he was able to get his jersey autographed.

[Benjamin Grimm]

When I took my kids to Shea last Saturday, my daughter asked me if I'd ever been to Yankee Stadium, which she's heard me refer to as "The House of Evil."

When I said yes, I had, she was shocked! I tried to explain that my two visits, back in 1984 and 1985, were before Yankee Stadium became a "cathedral." Back then it was just a ballpark, and going there to root against the Yankees didn't seem like an unreasonable thing to do. (My first visit was curiosity, the same thing that got Marv Albert in trouble. My second visit was for Tom Seaver's 300th win.)

Now, the place has been sanctified with all that "aura and mystique" nonsense and going there is just unthinkable. It would be like paying a visit to Osama Bin Laden's favorite mosque.

Edited July 15, 2008 by Guest

[soupcan]

="themetfairy"]

Awesome!

[G-Fafif]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Now, the place has been sanctified with all that "aura and mystique" nonsense and going there is just unthinkable. It would be like paying a visit to Osama Bin Laden's favorite mosque.

You rest my case.

[Guest themetfairy]

G-fafif - You're back already? Or did you go yet?

soup - thanks.

[G-Fafif]

Went today. Expected little. Expectations far surpassed. If I forget how much I spent on baseball paraphernailia, it was great fun. Just liked the sense of baseball community. Even MFY fans didn't bring me down by their mere presence. We were all kind of there for the same reason: fealty to a sphere with 108 stitches.

Only downer was rude enforcement of no beverage rule by security at check-in which elicited a visceral "WELL THAT'S STUPID!" from me (I've always wanted to act out against security at airports and such and here, I guess, I figured nothing would happen if I did). After that, I mellowed out, overbought and took it all in. JCL was right about the corporate ballwashing, but that comes with the territory. Got a nice glance at Ed Charles; swooned at the little-known Mel Ott Award; recorded (badly) "Take Me Out to the Ballgame"; availed myself of the free tacos not once but twice; and so forth.

A good time. Overpriced, but given that it's a rare enough happening, worth it sort of, even if the Javits Center brought back memories of boring-ass trade show drudgery from previous professional lives.

Next time let me keep my frigging beverages in my frigging bag, however.

[Guest themetfairy]

I like the trade show memories.

I successfully hid two little water bottles, but the bastages took our Chips Ahoy thin crisp cookies.

Glad that you had fun!