Thursday, July 5, 2012

Derek’s Birthday: Yes, It’s a National Holiday

First, let me take a moment to wish us a Happy 1st Anniversary at Pinstripe Love…it was one year ago that Dana and I decided to put our crazy thoughts down on paper and start this blog! We’ve had such a blast over the last year sharing our special Yankee moments from Tino’s Old Timers’ Day home run to DJ3K to our Michael Kay encounter to another successful trip to Spring Training…so many memories! And we look forward to bringing you more good times throughout the rest of the summer…especially, when we MEET MARK TEIXEIRA! Okayyy, ok, ok… that’s all I’m going to say about it right now…



Now, let’s talk about the man that inspired us to start this blog. Our first reports last year were about Old Timers’ Day/Jeter’s birthday and Jeter’s rehab games in Trenton. We were, however, unfortunately not able to see Derek on his birthday last year since he was on the disabled list. So this year, even though I myself am now on the DL, we couldn’t miss out! Oh yeah…A couple weeks back, I broke my foot in a few places. And, uhh…the thought of potentially missing out on Yankees games made me cry more than the pain…No lie!

So, I hopped over to Dana’s house the night before the game to drink beer and watch her meticulously cut out pictures of Derek and strategically paste them on poster board to make what we thought would be our best sign yet… and our best chance of making it onto the broadcast that night! We even added reinforcements and busted out one of our oldie-but-goodie Jeter signs that never ended up seeing the light of day at a past Spring Training ‘cause they don’t allow signs. (Whatever, Florida… I’ve said it before…your state is shaped like a wee-wee, and you are no fun!! I don’t care if you have Disney World…I’d rather sit on Dana’s couch and eat a pizza than go to the swamps!)



Aaaanyway, Dana’s OCD-ish behavior really kicked into gear and was extremely helpful in setting up a fun night of wheelchairs and winning! She arranged for us to sit in the handicapped seats in the bleachers (next to a bunch of non-handicapped people, most notably a dude that looked like the guy who sings “Hot, Hot, Hot”…you KNOW I had to pull up the YouTube video for the gals in the car for a post-game laugh…) where we had backs on our seats (bonus!) and weren’t obstructing anyone’s view with our awesome signs… which we attempted to hold up as high as we could for the entire game….I repeat, ENTIRE game. We never leave early…even if one of us has a 20 lb. cast hanging off our leg! Oh, by the way… no love whatsoever from My9 on the Jeter birthday signs! At least we got a good arm workout…

So, with that, let us officially wish our manz a very happy birthday…We love you, Jeets! If we coulda partied together (like I had originally planned – uhh, 16 years ago), this is what I woulda said: Cheers to you, Derek! You are an amazing, ageless, awesome person…Forget the nonbelievers. They’ve always been wrong. I am still in awe of you and your talent every single day!

And then we would get bombed and do regrettable things…well, I wouldn’t regret it.

And while I secretly/not-so-secretly do miss his high-top fade and tight pants, I know some things that will never change are that infectious smile and willingness to always play hard. And that perfect, in-shape, backside (daaayaaaaamn…)… I will make sure I have a roll of quarters for the day we eventually meet! Ya know, to call home…

Now, I leave you with some lessons learned during this latest trip to Yankee Stadium:

-Wheelchairs are hard to come by during HOPE Week.

-Jeter montages set to the song “Forever Young” are an instant tearjerker.

-I truly do believe Jeter’s birthday should be a national holiday… or at least in the tri-state area.

- You don’t need to be able to walk to root for your hot Yankees…

- …but you do to stand in line to get french fries…yikes!

Love, G