Game Day in the Big Apple

We really needed to eat before heading to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. I like that word - Bronx. We asked the doorman what he might suggest and he pointed us up the street where we found a little grocery/cafe - middle Eastern I believe. They served a decent breakfast. Then we hopped on the subway for the big game.

Pregame was at a place called The Dugout. It was deceiving - the size of the place. It looked like a small bar, but when you walked to the back and around the corner - walaa. A huge room filled with Cyclone fans! I had a $10 Bloody Mary. It was good. Then we headed over to Yankee Stadium and another nice Security Guard took our group photo. Then on to the Cyclone Spirit Walk - and picked up Pinstripe Bowl Pins. College Prez Geoffrey, Athletic Director Pollard and Coach Rhoads all spoke - and we could see 'em on the big screen. Go Clones!

Once we got into the vaunted stadium, we got a hot dog. Of course! It was a pretty cool venue - and the sun was shining. Too bad the Cyclones weren't. They sucked after the first couple series. Not much for us to cheer about. And I sat by the flailing lady - she bruised me several times. Bitch. At halftime we met our old friend Tom Sullivan and beau Shirley. Tom recently sold his Des Moines vet clinic and moved to this area after a divorce. He was in our wedding and we have known him since college and it was good to see him.

When the game was over, we subdued and somewhat crabby fans took the subway back to near our hotel. I must say the Rutgers fans were pretty nice - so that helped. The subway popped out near Macy's - so we looked around in that famed department store. Then we headed to a sports bar - but found the one that had been recommended sported a $20 cover, and was a Rutgers fan bar to boot! PASS. Down the block there was a nice free bar called Foley's that fit the bill for what we were looking for though. It was named after a former sportswriter and was chockfull of sports memorabilia. Plus there were TVs available so we could catch the Iowa vs. Oklahoma game. Tom and Shirley joined us for dinner and a couple drinks - fun to catch up with them, and introduce them to our Crestonia friends.

Foley's Sportsbar

On the way back to our hotel from Foley's Paul snapped a photo of me with trash. It's everywhere in NYC. Not much recycling to be seen, besides the containers I spied at Yankee Stadium. It makes me sad. I'd think they would be more like Italy, placing giant pods for recycling around on the streets. Day 3 in NYC was a bit of a downer - the game made me crabby. The Cyclones didn't seem ready to play. But the end of the day was cool, and it was nice seeing Tom.

One of the balls in Foley's - of What Not to Wear Fame