The Soundwalk - Yankee Stadium

For my Soundwalk, I chose to walk around Yankee Stadium in the Bronx the night of AL Wild Card game. I arrived around 6 pm, one two hours before the start of the game. I had been Yankee games in the past, but the atmosphere in the streets and near the stadium was different. The postseason feeling made everything around me sound much more vibrant and electric. I stood against a wall across the street from the stadium and began to close my eyes. Sounds came from every direction. The biggest thing I noticed was the amount of yelling that occurred all around me. People walking past me would chant "Let's go Yankees" over and over again. A man selling t-shirts shouted "Postseason T-shirts, only $10!" while a woman right next to me shouted "Ice cold water, $1!" Everyone needed to scream to be heard over the wall of sound coming from East 161st and River Ave. Beyond the yelling, I noticed other background noises. Occasionally a bus would honk loudly in front of me. In the distance behind me, I could hear the announcer inside Yankee Stadium welcoming fans. There also seemed to be a constant sound of chatter. As I got closer to the stadium, the chattering sound grew louder. Without looking, you could tell that thousands of people were in this one area at that moment. The yelling peaked in the area; vendors trying to sell merchandise, people trying to find their friends in the crowd, and nonstop chanting of fans all around. The most interesting part of my Soundwalk was the dominating sound created by the subway. The 4 train stops at an above platform station in front of Yankee Stadium. The trains passed by every 7 or 8 minutes. No matter how loud the yelling or chanting seemed to be, the train always trumped every other sound when it entered or left the station.