"The napkin"

Yankee23 · #1 07-27-2008, 09:15 PM

Back in 1994, I attended a Yankees/Red Sox game at the Stadium with my future best man and a close friend from college. My best man grew up in the Bronx, an obvoius Yankee fan, and my college buddy was from LI, who unfortuantely was a Sox fan.

We had quite the Happy Hour before the game and were partying like rock stars as the game got underway. Midway through the game a hot dog vender passed us by in the upper tier while the napkins blew from his strap-on-steamer flying freely in the summer wind around the Stadium.

My future best man went into a tirade about how much he hated the litter and the incompetentcy of the vendor as the napkins whirled about. He complained that the napkins always end up on the field causing stoppages of play and the vendor's action were unacceptable. My Sox fan from the Island, whom was always ready for a good argument, adamantly said that there was no way that they would stop the game over a napkin.

Just then the "napkin" appeared and took ahold of the three of us. We watched the "napkin" glide and float through the air like it had wings. It made it's way to the loge level and onward to the field level seats. None of us spoke and we were unaware of the game that was in progress.

The "napkin" took a turn towards second base like it was on a mission from a higher being. It then took a turn toward third and circled towards home. The pitcher was on the rubber getting the signs from the cather as the "napkin" made his final move. As the pitcher prepared to deliver the "napkin" darted and landed about 2 feet in front of home plate and completed his deatiny.

The umpire immediately rose from his crouch, throwing his hands in the air and called time. The "napkin" had stopped play. We all looked at each other in amazement and then started to laugh hysterically hugging each other like giddy little schoolgirls.

Still to this day I wonder what the people that sat around us, on that historic night in the Brox, were thinking when three grown men, 2 Yankee fans and 1 Sox fan, were doing hugging over the stoppage of play from a "napkin".