It was a great day to be a Yankee fan in New York. For the second year in a row, I went to the home opener at Yankee Stadium. Last year it was the inaugural game for the new stadium. This year, I was there to join in the final celebration of the 27th Championship win for my Yankees, as the players got their World Series rings.

It was so great to watch the Yankees getting their rings, especially the core of Jeter, Mariano, Posada and Pettitte getting their 5th rings. Jeter is now halfway to Berra’s mark of 10 championships, who was there to hand out the hardware along with Whitey Ford.

But the ceremony was made all the more sweet when the Yankees took advantage of the scheduling that brought the Angels to town and gave Matsui his ring. The Yankee fans gave the World Series MVP the standing ovation he deserved. It was actually one of the rare occasions that someone else garnered louder cheers from the Yankee faithful than Jeter.

And it was really cool when after Matsui got his ring from Girardi, he got mobbed at the mound by his ex-Yankee teammates. It was a thrilling moment.

The game was great, as the Yankees won 7-5 (it wasn’t as close as the score indicated, but the late grand slam did allow us to get our first taste of “Enter Sandman” in 2010 as Mo came in for a 2-out save). As we left the stadium, it was surreal and a little painful to see the old stadium being torn down across the street. The grand old lady is finally coming down, piece by piece, and it is good to know that “aura and mystique” have officially moved across and taken residence at the House that Jeter built.

You can check out all my photographs from this day here.