With opening day just a few short weeks away, desperate fans are handing over their first-born sons to the New York Yankees in exchange for front-row seats for opening day at the new Yankee Stadium.
"I mean, this is an historic event!" explained Joe Broncetti, a die-hard Yankees fan from the Bronx who arrived at the park with his 8-year-old son Tom in tow.
"I've got two other children left and, really, it's one less mouth to feed," he added, rustling the hair of the boy.
List price for an individual, front-row ticket for the opener against the Cleveland Indians runs a whopping $2,625, no small sum in these tough economic times.
When the Yankees announced the team was willing to accept first-born sons in exchange for a ticket, dozens of families jumped at the chance.
"You can't put a price on history," rationalized Debbie Morgan, a mother of two who arrived at the new Yankee Stadium ticket office wearing a Babe Ruth pinstripe jersey and clutching the hand of her 7-year-old son Jayden, staring wild-eyed as more families arrived, ready to unload their boys.
The Yankees have indicated all the boys collected will be fed, educated, and put through a difficult training regimen designed to make them possible future prospects for the team. Those that don't make the cut will be sent back to their families when they reach 18.
A single ticket in the bleachers will run only $14, but those in line scoffed at the thought.
"The bleachers are for drunkards and Red Sox fans!" exclaimed Carl Pavone, looking to snag a seat behind third in exchange for his son, 11-year-old Mark.
"What kind of example do you think we want to set for our kids?" he added, glancing at a printout of the seating chart.
Across town, at the Mets' new Citi Field, high-end seats run almost $700 or a couple of pints of blood, which the team is donating to the Red Cross.
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