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Matt Ehresman- Senior Writer

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I believe I’m one of few people who can finger-point the happiest moment of their life. For me, hands down the greatest moment of my 21 years was being at Yankee Stadium for Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. Roger Clemens was matched up against Pedro Martinez, less than a week after each had been in an altercation that involved a benches clearing brawl. While Clemens failed to deliver, he set up possibly the greatest moment in Mike Mussina’s career, as he danced his way out of a bases loaded none out situation in the fourth inning that saved the game. I vividly remember Hideki Matsui sliding across home plate and hopping up and letting go a scream that could be heard on the Massachusetts Turnpike after the Yankees had finally solved Martinez. While the Yankees had trailed all game, I could feel the entire stadium shake beneath my feet once the game was tied. Heading into the 11th inning, I recall a Red Sox fan behind me yell out his team’s rallying call for that postseason, ‘Cowboy Up!’ And with that call Tim Wakefield threw a knuckler that floated right to the sweet spot of Yankee third baseman Aaron Boone’s bat, as he crushed it to left field and sent the Yankees to the World Series. Strangers hugged each other, grown men cried, and the fan behind me was gone before the ball even hit the seats. With that, the ghosts of Yankee Stadium have yet to appear since that great moment in Yankee lore. We better hope they wake up when they move across the street next season.

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Gene Morris- Sports Editor

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Yankee Stadium has become a place near and dear to my heart over the last few years. Baseball is a game different from any other. The lazy days of summer and the six month grind make it like no other.

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The last few years I’ve been to about 20 games a season. It’s not so much a single moment that clearly sticks out off the top of my head, but just being in the venue where Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle played for the last 80+ years is something that a baseball fan could only dream about.

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I’ll be attending the last two games this weekend, and while I’m still praying for an 8-0 run down the stretch, for Boston to collapse, and for a sweep the last weekend at Fenway, it’s more than likely I will walk out of the Stadium with an empty feeling knowing the last moment will not live up to the history that’s been present since Babe Ruth his a home run in his first game to beat the Red Sox all the way back in 1923.

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Mike Fordera- Senior Writer

Yankee Stadium. The Cathedral of Baseball. Everyone has his or her own special memories. My very first memory of being at this wondrous and historical stadium was with my dad when I was nine years old. It was my first baseball game in person. We sat on the third base side behind Wade Boggs and I remember cheering very loudly for my favorite player, ‘Donnie Baseball’, Don Mattingly. My favorite memory would have to be sitting behind the Yankees on-deck circle, four rows from a practicing Derek Jeter, who would occasionally turn to the crowd and coerce a chuckle from the hundreds of screaming fans in his immediate area. It is a special stadium that will be sorely missed.

Carl Carrie- Assistant Sports Editor

With both of New York Stadium’s closing I’m going to give a favorite memory of both. My favorite memory of Yankee Stadium was actually the first time I saw the field. Being 7 years old, and just finishing my 2nd season of little league, I walked out from the tunnel and saw the perfectly cut grass, and the bright lights shining on the players. It was then, that I realized I wanted to be a baseball player– it wasn’t until later I figured that wasn’t happening.

As for Shea, I’m really happy that that the place is finally closing. It is really the worst place to watch a baseball game.

Zachary Kurtz Opinion Editor

My first and last baseball game was watching the Mets at Shea. My favorite memory was watching a ball get hit out of the park, and hitting a car in the parking lot I happened to be walking through.

Brian Morgan- Senior Writer

As someone who witnessed many playoff games, five World Series games (I was in Europe during the 03 Series), Roger Clemens pelt Mike Piazza, and the All-Star game live at Yankee Stadium, I feel blessed. Of course I’m excited to see a game played in the new stadium, but it will never be the same. Monument Park won’t be the same. Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’ won’t be the same. The current Yankee Stadium is one of a kind, and nothing will ever come close. Although most of the history occurred before I was born, the best memories I have as a sports fan occurred at Yankee Stadium, and they will always be cherished.