Yankee Stadium: Only the visable smybol of the end of an era

Those who watched the final game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night - despite your personal allegiances - have to admit that it was a combination of emotion and nostalgia. From a purely baseball perspective, seeing all of the Yankee greats of the past sharing the field with the current players was a sight to behold. Even members of the Orioles saw the importance of the evening, and were out on the field collecting dirt right along with everyone else.

But what was missing from all of the festivities and Hall of Fame players was the one person most responsible for restoring the aura and glory to the Yankees and that ball park as any one of those players were: George Steinbrenner.

George was in his home in Tampa, FL accompanied by his son Hank, who enjoyed the game on the television.

The demolition of Yankee Stadium will be a sad day for the baseball world, but sadder still has been the Yankees performance without the original Mr. Steinbrenner. As feisty as Hank is, he can't hold a candle to his father. While many have provided ample commentary and criticism of George over the many years as head of one of the most profitable and recognizable teams in all of the world, no one can dispute his passion for fielding a winning team and his willingness to do whatever he can to make the Yankees a success. It is more than symbolic that the first year that George stepped down and handed the reigns over to his two sons is the same year that the Yankees will miss the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.

Now the Yankee's shortcomings this year stem from more than George stepping down, they are in fact the culmination of his deteriorating health over the years. But the symbolism is still apparent: without George, the Yankees will never be the same. With New Yankee Stadium set to open next year and Hank and Hal in the second year of their tenure, the transformation of what the Yankees have been for the 35 years under George's careful watch into what they will be under this new generation of ownership will begin to round into shape. Yankee Stadium is only the last, visible symbol that times have changed not only in the Bronx, but in baseball.

It is truly the end of an era.