My latest blog was written by Karli Regalbuto, a student in my Baseball andStatistics class at Quinnipiac University. Please enjoy reading how a young girl grew up with a love for the Yankees and how her love for the Yankees created a beautiful bond with her dad.
It was ninety-five degrees and humid outside. Stadium packed, at full capacity.
I was only three years old. Sitting on my dad’s shoulders because I was too short to see the game. It was my very first major league baseball game. Yankees stadium smelled of hot dogs and sweaty fans. I couldn’t tell you whom the Yankees were playing, because frankly I didn’t care. Filled with awe, I mostly watched a particular player. Derek Jeter was early in his career and I was amazed by his passion for the game. Only three years old I knew I was in love with the game of baseball.
Years following, baseball became a special bond that my dad and I shared. We would go to games every year together and watch others at home. My mom and sister were never that interested in sports to begin with. Even though my dad didn’t have a son to share his love of sports with, he didn’t mind because he had me. When we watched games at home, we would act as if we were in the stadium. Silence, focusing on the play at hand. Then all of a sudden, screaming at the top of our lungs. Mom would come running into the room panicking. Dad and I would start hysterically laughing. Eventually, she became accustomed to the mini stadium that took over the living room during baseball season.
Still, my dad realized I craved more than just watching games during the season. I needed more from baseball than the season was giving me. He remembered how in awe I was at three years old watching Jeter play. It was then he introduced me to Yankeeography. At about thirteen years old my dad sat me down in the same living room we used as our mini stadium. Flipping through the recorded television shows, he stopped at one entitled “Yankeeography”. He explained to me that all the greats throughout Yankee history have been featured on this special on the YES Network. Every episode displayed something or someone within Yankee history. I was able to learn about the players he grew up with and the players my papa grew up with.
The Yankees, in that moment, turned into more than a team that I watched to bond with my dad. They became more than untouchable heroes. The Yankees became more than a group of celebrities that I couldn’t possibly find anything in common with. They became human. I felt closer not only to my dad and my papa, but also to my team. My respect for the Yankees blossomed and I knew this was my team. Forever and always a Yankee fan.
–by Karli Regalbuto,