Morning came on Oct. 5, 2009, with Yankee flags adorning shops and residents homes in the Bronx. Traffic is scarce, a few cars can be seen driving on Main street, yet not one of them is a cabbie.
Businesses around New York declare a holiday in honor of the evening's New York Yankees-Chicago Cubs Game 7 World Series Game.
To make up for a lack of transportation to the game, bus drivers are volunteering their services for Yankee fans.
Sunday was actually scheduled as a make-up work day for many NY companies, making today off possible. Most people ravingly agreed, considering the Yankees long anticipated return to the biggest stage in baseball.
What was supposed to be the finale season for the Old Yankee Stadium in 2008 was postponed in favor of helping tax payers save some money for one year.
Mayor Bloomberg decided that he would make extra-special preparations for the game, via extra policemen outside the stadium as well as inside it.
These boys of blue would provide a presence around the perimeter of the stadium as monitors, making sure that no ticket scalper earned one dollar above market value for a ticket.
What was really strange about this surprise empathetic move proved to be Bloomberg's insistence that if a ticket goes over it's pre-determined price, that the proceeds must be donated to a charity on site.
The Mayor promised that a different charity would be situated outside of each of the gates to the stadium.
Yankee Stadium has a new shine to it on this day, much like a brand new penny.
Around 10 in the morning, I pull up in the only running cab in New York City. The driver is actually a Yankees representative, and the cab is rented out for a few hours from the city.
Half a dozen reporters are awaiting my arrival, just outside the front gates to the House That Ruth Built.
As I open my door, I take notice to the carpet lain right before me, leading all the way to where the reporters are standing. It's a royal blue color, with a pin stripes background just like the Bombers uniforms. The Yankee logo appears embroidered in the center of this expensive looking carpet, jumping out like it was part of a 3-D movie.
To think all of this is a creation of Zander Freund and Bleacher Report makes me pinch my skin, wondering if this is reality.
Zander somehow managed to arrange this with the Yankees brass, with the premise that a winning essayist from the site, providing a report on New York Yankees history would be treated to a VIP experience for a day. As Bleacher Report editor Rory indicated to me, 1 million hit the sweet spot for the Yankees GM.
Not just any VIP treatment mind you, a VIP athlete-like pampering with full-access.
Getting out of the cab I felt like I was Broadway Joe, just without the mink coat and a couple of girls on my arms.
Just like a flash, I walked down the carpet, some what dizzy from the spinning feeling in my head from the sheer awe of what was happening.
As I reached the end of the carpet and was about to enter the gates, a hugely familiar figure stepped in front of me.
"My sons are running the day to day operations now but I'm still the owner around here. I want to show people that I'm not evil like Darth Vader."
"Plus the boys are busy with the series game looming and I'm the only one left to be your guide."
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