BRONX CORRESPONDENT

Fordham students frequently take advantage of the Rose Hill campus’ proximity to Yankee Stadium to attend games. (Courtesy of the Fordham Communications Department)

A short man in a Yankees hat walks across the diamond. The crowd cheers.  “This guy is the biggest Yankee fan that you will ever meet,” the announcer praises.  “And when he was growing up, he wanted to have one job: and that was to be the Yankee announcer.”

That was July 1, 2009, and Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the University was throwing out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium. McShane reeled back and tossed the ball to Yankees catcher Jorge Posada — a little high, but we’ve all seen much worse from men half his age. McShane then blessed Posada with the sign of the cross as the organ played the Hallelujah Chorus.

Fordham University and the New York Yankees are two of the Bronx’s biggest brands.  They are big employers, massive landholders and longstanding institutions.  Both represent the borough on an international scale.  And, both bring people to the Bronx who would never visit otherwise.

One of those people is Vikram Bhatia, FCRH ’14.  He says he would not be at Fordham if he were not a Yankees fan.  Growing up in Texas with no affinity for the Yankees, Bhatia fell for the Bronx Bombers while on vacation in India.  It was 4:30 in the morning, and he couldn’t sleep.  Bhatia flipped on the TV and found a live Yankees game. He says he wasn’t a big baseball fan, but the commentators and the theme music really caught his ear.  That was in July 2007.  “As I became a man, and not a child,” Bhatia said, “it became not about the theme music, but about winning baseball games, and I started to like the Yankees a lot.”

Ever since then, Bhatia has been a Yankees superfan.  He attends about 20 games a year and rocks a Yankees hat at all times — except when he’s at Mass, he’s quick to add.  Bhatia went to his first game at Yankee Stadium when he came to the Bronx to check out Fordham.  But, by then, the decision was made; “If the stadium’s here, the school doesn’t matter,” Bhatia said.

Bhatia is not the only one who chose Rose Hill for the local baseball team.  Kayla Lombardo, FCRH ’15, says Rose Hill’s proximity to Yankee Stadium was a huge reason she chose Fordham.  She says her love for the Yankees is also the reason she plays softball.  Last spring, Lombardo and the rest of the Fordham Rams softball team even got to see a Yankees spring training game during a road trip to Florida. Afterward, Yankee legend Reggie Jackson chatted with the team.  It was an amazing experience for an aspiring sports journalist.

“I want to write for the Yankees,” Lombardo said. “It’s like my dream job.”

She chose Rose Hill because of its proximity to the stadium, and she loves how easy it is to follow her favorite team.

Following the Yankees is not as easy for Nolan Silbernagel, FCRH ’14.  In fact, it is a job.  Silbernagel covers the Yankees for WFUV, Fordham’s radio station housed in Keating Hall.  He and fellow Yankees beat reporter Mack Rosenberg, FCRH ’14, get full press access to every single Yankees home game.  That means a seat in the press box and clubhouse access after the game to interview stars like Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano.  “It’s definitely been a dream summer,” Silbernagel said.  “Couldn’t imagine anything better.”

Silbernagel has been a Yankees fan for as long as he can remember, but this is his first year covering the team.  WFUV has been sending student reporters to games for 17 years.  Although he is the youngest guy there, Silbernagel said he has never received any special treatment.

“They don’t baby you, no one there’s gonna treat you like you’re a college kid.  As far as they see, you’re from a competitive radio station.”

Silbernagel said the only time Fordham is ever mentioned is when Michael Kay is around.  Kay is a Fordham University graduate, FCRH ’82, and — as the Yankees’ TV play-by-play broadcaster — holds the very job that young Joey McShane wanted as a kid.  McShane may have ended up working for another Bronx icon, but as a University spokesman pointed out, he has a perfect ERA of 0.00 at Yankee Stadium.

Categories: Fordham in the Bronx, News