Editor's note: What was it like to see two different ballgames in two different ballparks in the same day? We sent ESPN.com's Joe Lago to New York to report on the occasion. He filed updates throughout the day and night, and here's what he saw and heard:
12:59 p.m.: I'm on my way to Shea Stadium on the infamous No. 7 train and I'm standing next to a guy playing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" on his saxophone. This train is filled with people going to the game, but I must say there are many more Mets fans than Yankees fans. I'll be back in a bit. Hopefully, at that point I'll have tickets.
1:17 p.m.: Well, I'm off the train and am in search of that ticket. But I'm not the only one. There are a mob of people with me and nobody is able to get a ticket. I might be out of luck at least for the time being, but I'm going to keep trying.
|  | | Shea Stadium fans welcomed back Dwight Gooden in Saturday's first game. But the chants weren't always pro-Yankees, as Mets fans rooted against their one-time hero in his return to the mound. |
1:22 p.m.: I just bumped into a reporter for the New York Times who told me she's here doing a story on people trying to scalp tickets to get into the game. I'm still in search for a ticket. I'll keep you posted.
1:25 p.m.: I'm in as is my buddy Gary. You wouldn't believe it, but we just got upper-deck seats for $12 from two people named Tara and Tim. That's right $12! Man, we really lucked out. Tara just told me that some people paid up to $50 for these same tickets.
1:31 p.m.: We just found our seats. My seat is Section 21, Row O, Seat 11. And the first argument among the fans is over who is the better catcher -- Mike Piazza or Jorge Posada. One Yankee fan says Piazza has no arm. What a great day out here. I'm now going to look for a beer and hot dog and will be back in a bit.
1:45 p.m.: I just told Tara that I'm not paying for these tickets because it's just a business expense and she was a bit tiffed because she told me if she knew that, she would have charged me at least $50, probably more. So, to calm her down, I bought her a beer. Check this out, I just got four beers and two hot dogs and it cost $30.50? What a joke that is! But that's New York for you, I guess. The fans just gave Dwight Gooden a standing ovation after pitching a scoreless first inning.
2:03 p.m.: I just took my first trek to the men's room and ran into a contingent of Yankees fans, who were chanting one of those famous Bronx chants. I better not put into writing what they were saying, however. It was pretty hilarious stuff.
2:06 p.m.: The Mets fans just bellowed out their first "Let's go Mets" chant after Benny Agbayani drove in Todd Zeile with the Mets' first run of the game on a fielder's choice grounder. Yankees fans followed with a large boo after they thought Agbayani didn't beat the relay throw from Chuck Knoblauch.
2:11 p.m.: There is a definite presence by NYPD in this stadium. And you can really tell that they are trying to curb potential confrontations between Yankees and Mets fans. I'll keep you posted if anything breaks out up here.
2:29 p.m.: Tara's two friends just showed up on the scene. They were supposed to have the seats that Gary and me are currently sitting in. And you know what, they got in for NOTHING! Shea Stadium is an utter joke. Security let them in for free after they gave them a sob story about losing their tickets.
2:33 p.m.: Nice guys as we are, we decided to let Tara's friends sit in our seats. The hunt for better seats and, you got it better beer, is ongoing.
2:39 p.m.: Well, we were denied access to the field level. So, I guess we're not sitting in the front row! Up to the loge level now as the search for two empty seats continues.
2:50 p.m.: While standing in line for food, a pretty intense "Yankees suck" chant began. No fights yet though. By the way, I just got two beers, fries and a hot dog. $19.25. I hope my bosses don't get pissed.
2:54 p.m.: We're finally seated again. This time we're behind the left-field wall in Box 484, Row B. They were the only seats that weren't taken. We're in the sun and ready to drink our third, oh make that our fourth beer of the game. And it's only the fifth inning.
2:59 p.m.: As you can expect there are a clan of Mets fans in our section, so yes we are officially Mets fans. The "Knoblauch sucks" chant has begun and he just missed a fly ball. Hey, he can't throw and now he can't catch either.
3:03 p.m.: Well, we're out of our seats again. Kicked out by two Yankees fans. They came up from behind us and said, "hey guys take a hike." And since they were bigger than we are, we quickly fled the scene. Man, this searching for seats crap never ends. I hate the Yankees.
3:14 p.m.: We're striking out in getting seats. So, we've decided to take shelter at a little bar called Casey's 37, which is on the third-base side. Gary says this isn't a happening place though so we'll probably get the hell out of here pretty quick. I think mezzanine level is our next stop.
3:29 p.m.: Every "let's go Yankees" chant is followed by "Yankees suck." These fans are wild. We're back in the upper deck and are still searching for open seats. Man, this is getting annoying.
3:40 p.m.: The key word for today is SUCK. All the t-shirts say either "Yankees suck" or "Mets suck." And the fans are chanting it all over the stadium. I'm even beginning to say it as well because this search for seats is going nowhere. Casey's 37, here we come.
4:32 p.m.: Sorry for the lull, but we got a little lost in the far away corridors of this dumpy old stadium looking for cheaper beer. Yankee fans are reaching a fever pitch here while, as you can expect, Mets fans have nothing to say.
4:46 p.m.: Mariano Rivera is now in.
4:48 p.m.: Game over.
4:57 p.m.: On the way back to the train, Yankee fans are taunting Mets fans. As for myself, well I'm four beers deep and am feeling pretty good. Now the journey turns to Manhattan where we are heading for a barbecue joint on the West Side called Brother Jimmy's. A nice young lady, who happens to date the Mets' Matt Franco, is a bartender there and is especially awaiting our arrival.
6:30 p.m.: We never did make it to Brother Jimmy's. We decided it would be too chaotic to go across Manhattan and then hope to get back to the Bronx for the game. So, we grabbed dinner on the East Side and right now we're on the No. 4 train heading to Yankee Stadium. Word is that the Bronx is already jammed with people. As it was earlier at Shea Stadium, I assume it's not going to be easy getting tickets. But I'm not concerned, we'll get in.
7:14 p.m.: We've arrived at Yankee Stadium, but have yet to find a ticket. We ran into a guy who offered us two tickets in the loge level, but he wouldn't give us a price. I'm going to wait him out and see if he buckles right before the first pitch. There is somewhat of a subdued environment outside the stadium. I think a lot of people, including myself, are a little worn out from the long day. But don't count me out just yet. I'll get my second wind soon.
7:32 p.m.: I just heard the craziest thing yet. A guy is offering two tickets that are five rows behind the Yankee dugout for catch this: $200 a piece. That's whacked. There are a ton of people looking for tickets around here. We're probably going to have to wait until at least the first pitch, maybe even longer to get in. The scalpers around here are nuts.
7:41 p.m.: Nothing yet. The best line of the last hour was a guy that offered us parking tickets. It was worth a laugh. I still have my finger up in the air in the search for seats. I won't give up.
7:47 p.m.: We just scored some Tier reserved seats that at face are worth $15. We paid $25 a piece for them. I'm a little paranoid that we got ripped off because I'm not sure they are real tickets. We'll find out soon enough because we're in line to get into the Stadium right now. Wish me luck.
8:01 p.m.: We're in! The tickets were legit. Thank God. We're sitting in the upper deck in right field looking directly down the first-base line. I just wanted to give kudos to my buddy Gary for talking down the guy we bought the tickets from. The guy wanted $50, but Gary talked him down to $25. People are still filing in here and without a doubt this is a decidedly larger Yankee crowd. It's certainly a great night to play a game. Temperatures are in the mid-70s with a slight breeze. You couldn't ask for a better night.
8:26 p.m.: We haven't seen any fights yet, but after Roger Clemens plunked Mike Piazza with a pitch sending him crashing to the ground I think something is going to happen soon. Mets fans aren't too happy. The talk is just starting up. It could turn ugly soon.
8:40 p.m.: Mets fans are rejoicing in the retaliation of Glendon Rusch hitting Tino Martinez in the butt with a pitch, although there's a big difference between a Glendon Rusch fastball and a Roger Clemens fastball. The crowd was pretty rowdy to begin with, but now we have Yankees fans and Mets fans jawing at each other. If we don't have a fight on the field, there will be one in the stands before this game is over. There definitely is not as many visible NYPD in the stands at the Stadium as there were at Shea.
8:58 p.m.: Just when you think you've heard it all ... There's a guy sitting next to us in our section who told the guy next to him to be careful not to spill any beer on him. The guy says he's allergic to beer. Go figure.
9:35 p.m.: There's definitely reason for people to cheer now with the Mets scoring first. A Mets fan just got kicked out by security for taunting Yankees fans. Everybody was chanting, "Throw him out! Throw him out!" This place is nuts. Everybody wants a reason to get in each other's faces. I can compare it to Giants-Dodgers crowds at Candlestick. At Candlestick, the beer flows more and there are more fights at Giants-Dodgers games, for sure, but these fans are definitely more intense. You're either a Yankee fan or a Met fans. No neutrality. Everybody's wearing something. Everybody is very vocal, very passionate about their team. The cops are more wary now with crowd confrontations.
9:50 p.m.: The place erupted when Chuck Knoblauch hit that three-run bomb. It's amazing here. Everyone was in each other's faces. When Lenny Harris robbed Derek Jeter at the wall in left-center, Mets fans got back in Yankees fans' faces. The Yankees fans were signalling back "4 and 2" for the score. This is unreal. Actually, it's nice to be a neutral fan just taking everything in.
10:13 p.m.: The 7th-inning stretch -- boy, did we need it! After 16 innings of baseball, my day is coming to a close.
10:30 p.m.: After the Mets' half of the eighth, with Derek Bell stranded at third, "Go Home Mets" chants sprung up. I think thoughts of a sweep began to sink in with Mets fans.
10:57 p.m.: Yankees win! Yankees win! Time to call it a day. | |
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