Foiled Plot

14 April 2008



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Red Sox Jersey Unearthed at New Yankee Stadium

One doubts if there is a rivalry in sports as laced with venom as that between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. For example, a Red Sox fan stuck a David Ortiz Red Sox jersey into the cement being poured at the new Yankee Stadium in an attempt to curse the place. Yesterday, at a cost of $50,000, the Yankees busted up the cement and removed the shirt. The prankster may face criminal and civil charges.

Gino Castignoli had vowed never to enter the new stadium. Not even if he got free tickets to sit in owner George Steinbrenner’s box. But then, he heard a little voice in his head. “A lot of my friends work there, and they said it was easy work. I told them I wouldn’t work there, but then one day a few months later, I said, ‘I could just go and jinx that stadium’.” So, he went to work and buried the jersey under 2 feet of cement.

Yankees president Randy Levine said team officials originally considered leaving the shirt where it was. “The first thought was, you know, it’s never a good thing to be buried in cement when you’re in New York. But then we decided, why reward somebody who had really bad motives and was trying to do a really bad thing?” So, they dug it up, and now they’re angry. Yankee Chief Operating Officer Lonn Trost said, “I spoke with a [prosecutor]. There may be criminal issues.” And they may sue for civil damages.

In today’s Boston Herald, Mr. Castignoli said, “It’s typical Yankees. It’s not like I snuck in there. It didn’t do any structural damage. I didn’t put anyone in harm’s way.” He added, “Anybody with half a brain knows it was all done in fun.” Yes, but anyone with half a brain prefers the National League anyway. Anthony Chiodi who grew up in the Bronx with Castignoli, is a Yankees fan, but he said that if the Yankees take his friend to court, he would change his allegiance and wear Boston’s colors henceforth. “They’ve been saying for a week there’s no such thing as a hex. If it didn’t mean anything, why’d they dig it up?” asked Chiodi. “He’s going to be a hero in Boston.”

As for the shirt, Mr. Levine said, “Hopefully the Jimmy Fund will auction it off and we’ll take the act that was a very, very bad act and turn it into something beautiful.” A very, very bad act? That’s a bit much. Still, giving a few buck to the Jimmy Fund, a charity affiliated with Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, shows a bit of class. The final word goes to Mr. Castignoli, “It was worth it.”

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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