Wine and Cheese in the Bronx

The old Yankees Stadium was loud. Come playoff and World Series time, the place was hell for visiting teams.
Watching the last three playoff games against the Rangers in the new Yankee Stadium, I couldn't believe how different the atmosphere was and how many empty seats there were.
Granted, I was watching the games on TV, but I saw the empty seats behind each dugout and behind home plate. I could see people sitting there simply watching the game with very little emotion. They were quiet, probably waiting for the wait service to bring them a wine list or appetizer menu.
Did you ever see empty seats at a post-season game at the old stadium? Was the old stadium ever as quiet as the new one for a post-season game? The answers to both questions, no.
The incredibly high priced seats at the new stadium for the prime locations on the lower level behind the plate and dugouts has forced out the common man. Now, the rich folk have taken over, when they bother to show up. In many cases, at least during the regular season, those seats go unsold because they are way, way, way too expensive.
Nothing against rich people but they tend to be more casual and laid back than the guy who is more blue collar and who lives and dies with his team. Why this is, I don't know. Is this a scientific study? No, but that is the way I see it.
Bill Veeck had a great quote and I believe it to be completely accurate. He said, "I have discovered in 20 years of moving around a ballpark, that the knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the price of the seats".
Bingo. He nailed it. People in the cheaper seats (not that there are cheap seats in the new building) know more about the game and therefore care more. When you care more you bring passion and energy to the park. You are into every pitch.
When you sit in the really expensive seats, you just don't care as much. It is more of a status thing.
Next time the Yankees play a post-season game in the new park (hopefully Game 3 of the World Series this year!) watch the people in the expensive seats. They are dead. They are sipping their beverages and simply watching the game with no emotion. If you look closely, you will see that some of them aren't even paying attention to the game. They are on their cell phones, chatting with the person next to them or just looking all around. It is nothing like the way the crowd behaved at the old place.
Watching these playoffs, I longed for the old park and for the electric atmosphere it produced. Now, it's like the Yankees are playing their home post-season games in Atlanta.
In retrospect, here's what the Yankees should have done. Build the new park for the regular season. Let the rich folk have a nice place to spend some time and drop some cash. But, they should have left the real Yankee Stadium standing, just for post-season play. Let the common people get their hands on the tickets and bam, you have a lively atmosphere in the greatest park ever. Then next April, go back to the new place for the regular season only.
Yes, I know what I just wrote was pretty stupid. But, damn, I miss the old Yankee Stadium, especially this time of year.