Hello, my name is Marie and I am a season ticket holder for the Yankees.

That statement has to be the one that gets the craziest looks from most people. One of the things I have learned over the last few years is that people, mainly men, are absolutely amazed that I have season tickets for the Yankees by myself. Women shouldn’t be sports fans, much less have season tickets right?  Most people feel the need to go with someone, or they go with their boyfriends and husbands. Yet I have no problem going alone.

Starting around 2005, I began attending Yankee games on an almost daily basis, buying tickets online or from eBay when games were sold out.  For the first few games I had tickets in the bleachers, a place I had never sat before. I must admit that I was a little intrigued by some of the antics I remember seeing going on there when I was a kid, which made me want to experience it myself. Besides, my parents would never get tickets out there and told me I should never sit there. Once I was able to drive myself to the stadium, where do you think I sat? You guessed it.

Would you believe me if I said I have not sat anywhere else in Yankee Stadium since then? You should believe me, but I will be honest and say that I was give four tickets eight rows from the dugout one season and couldn’t turn those down. That would be the only exception. During that 2005 season I began to meet people who were “Bleacher Creatures”, or regulars. I learned the roll call, the player taunts, the cheers, chants and even songs that go on out there. That was all it took to get me hooked.  I saw roughly 50 games that season, all from the right field bleachers.

I have kept my tickets over the years and moved over to the new stadium despite being very uneasy and unhappy about it. It’s not like the Yankees asked my opinion or would have cared for that matter because if I didn’t keep my tickets, there would always be someone else to buy them. I took a great deal of memories from the old stadium with me: my childhood, playoff games (everyone remembers the bloody sock game), the 2008 Home Run Derby, 2008 All-Star Game and finally, the last game ever at the old Yankee Stadium.

I consider myself very fortunate and lucky to have been able to have seen so many games in the old stadium, and to have been a part of Opening Day in the new stadium as well. While I haven’t attended as many games this season as past years as a result of starting on my graduate work, my loyalty to the Yankees hasn’t wavered. I watch every game on television or listen on the radio if I am not near a television.

Perhaps now would be a good time to tell you all that I am also addicted to baseball cards. While my collection is extremely large, the focus of what I look for is very clear. Normally I don’t build sets because I have more fun working on player collections, but Yankee Stadium Legacy changed that. I used to build sets as a kid and teenager and gave it up to build collections of my favorite players.

When the Yankee Stadium Legacy set was announced many people were too intimidated to try and collect almost 7,000 cards- not me. I am well on my way, with 1,313 cards logged into my collection and a pile sitting here waiting to be accounted for. This is the ultimate Yankees fan set and by far the most comprehensive insert set ever made. There is nothing not to like about the Yankee Stadium Legacy set . . . unless you are a Red Sox fan.

So here is my advice to all the women and young girls out there that have always wondered what it would be like to collect cards:  I urge you to buy a pack- you won’t regret it. If you have children, buy a pack and you can “pretend” it’s for them, I won’t tell. There may also be some women out there that already collect and I say kudos to you, and welcome trade offers. Collecting baseball cards or sports cards in general is a great way to bring yourself one step closer to the sport while having some fun.  There is nothing better than finding those last two cards to complete a set, or filling the empty slot in your binder with a parallel of a card you have been chasing for months.

Now that you know a little bit more about me and may even think I’m crazy, you should come back and see what I’m working on next.  There will be much more about baseball cards and my current mission in my player collections coming soon. I’m looking forward to sharing more about my passion for the Yankees and my drive to complete the Yankee Stadium Legacy Set as well as my player collections right here on UpperDeckblog.com.

Marie co-writes the blog A Cardboard Problem in addition to being a season ticket holder for the Yankees and an all around baseball fan.  Marie is an avid card collector and welcomes comments, questions, and e-mails.