A few months ago, while trying to find out just how hard it might be to get tickets to the All Star game, I found a link on the Yankee website that allowed me to file an application to volunteer for the events taking place that week. Admittedly, my first thought was that I could sign up for a job at the stadium and watch the game for free. Maybe they needed help selling dogs? But when I read the material with a closer eye, I discovered that the actual All-Star game was not one of the events that would be covered by volunteers. Shoot! But, what the hell? I signed up anyway.Yesterday afternoon was the first informational session. It took place at Yankee Stadium and, as exciting as it is just to be in the stadium (especially when it is empty), it wasn't any big thrill to wait in line for an hour, sit in the sun waiting for 45 minutes, and then listen to stupid people ask stupid questions for another 30 minutes before getting "interviewed".
Granted, most of the waiting time was my fault. I totally misjudged the traffic getting to the stadium and was so worried that I wouldn't find a parking spot that I left my house super early. I wound up getting there at 4:15pm (an hour and 15 minutes early) BUT I was able to park directly in front of Gate 6, which is where I needed to be. I am really glad that I arrived when I did because the others arrived quickly after me... and there were lots of them. We lined up in groups sorted by last name (I was first in my line...yay!) and waited for all the workers to figure out their game plan. As we were watching the one girl who seemed like the one in charge go around and explain the process to the other workers there, the guy behind me commented on how it looked like organized chaos. I have to say, I thought they did a pretty good job of handling all the people who showed up, about two thousand or so by my estimate.
When it was time, I was asked to sign a waiver, was given a copy of my application to make corrections, was searched (just like before a Yankee game) and told to have a seat in the stadium. No, not anywhere in the stadium. We were behind right field and we filled up three complete sections. After everyone was processed from the line, the volunteer coordinators introduced themselves and started by asking a few Yankee trivia questions for people to win free tickets to upcoming games:
Who was the last Yankee to be inducted into the Hall of Fame?
Who was the Yankee manager before Joe Torre?
How many World Series titles have the Yankees won under George Steinbrenner?
In what year did the Yankees win their first World Series?
There were so many people there that, even though I was sitting in the second row, I didn't have a chance getting picked to answer. Well, I guess I had a chance, but not a very big one. Needless, to say, no free tickets for me. It was a nice way to start out the session though.
A spokeswoman for MLB then explained some of the areas where they needed volunteers and let us know that, out of the over 6,500 people who applied to volunteer (the most ever), only approximately 2,200 would be selected. Schedule availability, background checks, the "interview", and luck would determine who that would be. You could choose to work at Fan-Fest, which is the DHL-sponsored, week-long event at the Javitz Center or choose to be a NY Ambassador, someone who would help with parties and other events, travel, etc. I choose to apply to be an ambassador. They only need 700 of those by the way.
Then it was stupid question time:
(Answered provided by me, not the MLB)
Will we get any chance to see the All-Star game?
(Yeah, if you buy tickets, Jackass.)
Why don't we get paid to do this?
(Because it is a volunteer opportunity, Jackass.)
What color will the uniforms that we get be?
(Nope, I am not kidding. Someone asked this one too. What a Jackass.)
Eventually, we were done and it was time to line up for the "interview". Luckily, they decided to escort people out of the stadium in the same order they arrived, so I got out quickly and was the first one in my group to be "interviewed".
Now, you may be wondering why I keep putting quotes around "interview". It is because it really wasn't an interview. It was a questionnaire that just happened to be filled out by someone else. Some of the questions I was asked:
How long have you lived in the NY Area?
(All my life.)
Will you be able to stand for long periods of time?
(Didn't I just do that waiting on line?)
Are you a Yankee season holder?
(Yes!! But I am not sure why this makes be better able to volunteer.)
Can you work for three consecutive days or three days total?
(Gee, can't you get this info from the availability sheet that you just made me verify?)
Where else have you volunteered?
(I stretched the truth here just a bit but hey, whose going to know, right?)
And that was basically it. I should get a letter in the mail within two weeks telling me if I made it or not. The process wasn't too painful, I suppose. Considering that they don't do this very often, they organized it relatively well. I did wish the "interview" was more selective though because I didn't really feel like I had any better chance of getting selected than some of the jackasses from the question-and-answer session. Such is life.
Keep your fingers crossed. I will let you know if I get in!
