by Michelle Maskaly

11:50 PM  History was made!  What an exciting night!  And you couldn’t have asked for a better ending!  Jeter the last Yankee at bat, Mariano trowing the last pitch and a Yankee win!  And all 10 minutes before my birthday–no one can top this present! Ha!

11:36 PM  Mariano Rivera is on the mound and the crowd is on their feet in the top of the 9th. This could very well be the end of it for Yankee Stadium if Baltimore doesn’t score.

The crowd is screaming “Let’s Go Yankees!”

10:57 PM 7th inning stretch!

The grounds crew just took one final “sweep” of Yankee Stadium to the tune of “YMCA” and the crowd is going nuts. There are just as many camera flashes going off as there were for when Jeter stepped up to the plate.

Jeter, by the way, just blew the chance at a Grand Slam so it looks like I am be wrong on who will hit the last homerun here.

While I’m typing Joba Chamberlain just ran out to the mound and my ears are hurting from the screaming — but I guess that goes well with the fact my voice from yelling was gone by the 4th inning…..

10:21 PM Jose Molina just hit a homerun right in front of us!

The ball landed on the net that covers the fans and chaos broke out — but a classy security guard got it and gave it to the guy who first had his hand on it. Nice job.

So now, will Molina be the last Yankee to hit a homerun here?

My bet is that Mr. November, who will not be playing in the playoffs this year, will not disappoint and take that distinction later in the game. However my friends next to me disagree — John says Molina and Scott says Nady.

Who do you think it will be?!

9:36 PM - Johnny Damon just hit a three-run home run and the crowd is re-energized! Everyone was down, Damon gets up to bat and I turn to the guy next to me and say, “No worries, he’ll hit a homerun.” Everyone laughed at me.

With a one run lead — who is laughing now buddy!

But, now it begs the question - will a former Red Sox player be the Yankee who hits the last homerun in this stadium’s history?

9:22 PM The energy around the bleachers is starting to fade a bit now because it’s top of the third and the Yanks are losing 2-0. People are actually starting to check football scores on their BlackBerry.

But I’m still excited — afterall my favorite Yankees pitcher, Andy Pettitte, is on the mound!

8:26 PM - We are shoulder to shoulder here listening to Bruce Springstein’s ‘Glory Days’ in the bleachers waiting for the second inning to start and the large board in the outfield flashes a sign reading, “Theft or attempted theft of stadium property is a crime violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Ooooppppsssss! I guess my friend Matt shouldn’t have taken some dirt from the warning track.

7:29 PM- The special pre-game ceremony started with a tribute to the Opening Day team of 1923.

Fans are on their feet while names of the past are being read and actors portraying them take the field and stand in a line in center field.

Former Yankee greats, such as Dave Winfield - a crowd favorite - are taking the field and running to their respective positions.

There are so many flashes from cameras going off that the stadium looks like a light show!

Mrs. Rizzuto just took the field -representing her husband - to a thunderous applause.

7:09 PM- In line for a pretzel we just met Lily Casas, 24, and her boyfriend Kenny Sanchez, 26, from L.A. It was during the All-Star Game a few months ago they realized this was the last season for Yankee Stadium and decided “we got to go.”

They bought tickets on StubHub and booked their flight right away.

“We decided if we are going to go, we were going all out and for the last game,” Sanchez said. “I love baseball. This is unbelievable.”

Neither of them are Yankees fans, but for today, they said, “everyone is a Yankee fan.”

6:48 PM - After six hours we are finally in Monument Park! Although at this point they’ve stopped letting people on the field. For me its finally hit this is it - the last game in a ballpark that contains so much history. If these walls could talk….

Baltimore is taking batting practice right behind us and a girl in front of us just got hit in the arm with a ball.

A version of ‘New York, New York’ is blaring from the speakers - what perfect choice!

5:17 PM-They’ve extended the time it will be open to accommodate the large number of people, but are not allowing field access anymore because batting practice is starting.

People are starting to get restless.

4:45 PM- Four hours after the stadium opened for the final time, we are still waiting on the line to get into Monument Park and take a walk on the field.

Fans are slowly filing to their seats, but many are still waiting on the line.The Jumbotron, just above the bleachers in right center field, is showing video clips of historic moments at Yankee Stadium and pre-recorded clips and comments from player, past and present.

Several Yankees took the field to warm up, but batting practice, scheduled to start at 4 p.m., seems to have been delayed.

Here is a photo of a guy behind us who has also been waiting on line.

2:18 PM- It’s about seven hours before the first pitch of the final Yankees game at the ‘house that Ruth built’ is thrown.

Outside the stadium the streets are lined with shirts, hats and anything else you can think of marked with Yankees logo.

Joba Chamberlain’s Dad is posing for pictures with fans outside Gate 2.

Walking into the stadium for the last time brings mixed emotions as they hand you a magnetic blue pennant with the dates ‘April 18, 1923 - September 21, 2008′ and a picture of the stadium. It almost feels like a funeral.

Gates opened about an hour ago and the stadium is already a sea of pinstripes. We are on line to get into Monument Park — a line that winds up the stairs to to the top of the stadium all the way back down again.