In late May of 1996, I was in New York after a job interview in Boston (details here).

I wanted to go to a Yankees game. My Manhattanite cousin gave me this stark warning: "Okay. You're going to the Bronx. You've got to be street-smart. Before you go down a street, look down it. If you don't see anyone who looks like you, don't go down it."

To me, the clear implication in that statement was if you don't see fellow white people on the street, don't go there.

With that warning internalized, I jumped on the No. 4 subway train and headed north to 161st St. and River Ave.

The few things that stand out in my mind were the hawkers on the subway car, especially one middle-aged Chinese man selling a stunning array of glowing trinkets, and overhearing two young men both agreeing how Karl Marx had gotten it right.

Emerging from the subway station, I almost immediately saw a police officer to my left. And one to my right. Around the entire perimeter of the stadium, there was a police officer within sight of another police officer. That's something you don't see at the Rogers Centre. :)

But other than being the South Bronx, famous for being an urban hellhole, the area right around the stadium didn't look that bad compared to the images of devastation one sees elsewhere in the borough.

I found the stadium itself had the same aura (at least to my starstruck mind) as other great temples of sport - Maple Leaf Gardens, the Forum, Fenway.

New stadiums need decades to build up the spiritual energy that compare with those types of venerable edifices.

On to the game.

My seat was on the third-base line about 20 rows up from field level, not that far from third base itself.

The fans were New York stereotypes.

Wade Boggs was playing for the Yankees at that time. At age 38, he was in the twilight years of his career (he retired in 1999), but was still great at making contact (he was .311 that season).

Wade stroked a single in his first at-bat. "Boggs! Boggs! Boggs!" chant the fans in front of me. He managed to advance to second base, which fired them up even more! ("Boggs for mayor!" "Boggs for president!")

Then he tried to plod home on a single and was thrown out about 20 feet from home plate.

His erstwhile fan club exploded in fury and frustration.

"You suck, Boggs!" "You're a tired old man!" "Retire!!"

But he was back up in the fourth, and got another hit, and so he was back in their good books -- for a few minutes.*

* I believe I was at the May 21 game against the Oakland Athletics. The Yankees won 7-3, and Boggs ended up with three hits and an RBI on the day.

Never has the "what have you done for me lately?" ethos ever been made clearer to me. :)

The Yankees did go on to win the World Series that year. That would be the only world championship of Boggs' career.

Not that I made much personal use of it, but I'm sorry to hear that the House that Ruth Built not only won't be home to the Yankees, but will actually be torn down.

Here's hoping the new Yankee stadium measures up some day as a special place.