 For the past 30 years, Stanford downtown has welcomed the holiday season with their annual Heights and Lights repel. Yankee's general manager Brian Cashman has been part of the tradition for the last decade, and this year, manager Aaron Boone is joining in the fun. With spectators unable to celebrate in person this year, enjoy this all-access look into Stanford's Heights and Lights holiday celebration. I used to see in the Stanford Advocate, you know, the pictures of the show the next day on the Monday after the Sunday evening, I'm like, well, I was pretty cool, and then I started taking my kids to the show. We won the World Series in 2009, so in 2010, because we're World Champs, you know, there's a restaurant across the street of the landmark called Zaza, which is still there. And so the people who run Zaza was like, hey, we'll get you and your family, you know, a table right on the window, which you look up, you see the building perfect, and you're indoors. So, dinner, drinks, whatever, you know, but you're warm. You're not standing out on the street like normal, or it's freezing typically. And so I was in there, and I was popping back more than a few, having a good time with the family, and I blurted out a comment of, wow, I'd do that in a heartbeat if I could. And the lady, Lynn Coletrella, who runs Stanford downtown overheard the comment, and she must have been standing behind me, and she was like, hey, I'm Lynn Coletrella. If you're serious, we'll train you, I'll get you on that building next year. Next year, you know, I get to call them in July. Are you serious? Because we got to train you downtown, and, you know, and so I got trained up by Santa Claus, Brian Van Orsadol, and I've been a part of the Repel team ever since. It's early Friday morning. We're 22 stories above the city of Stanford and just two days before the show. The team gathers for a day of practice, allowing all the jitters to get out and giving a chance for this tight-knit group to reconnect. Where does this rank on most nervous you've been? Well, I'm in the dugout right now, so I'm okay. But once I get up to bed, it's going to be a little nerve-wracking. I'm a little nervous. Every year, I try to come up with inviting somebody. So a year has gone by. It had been Bobby Valentine, obviously was one example. And so, you know, I've asked a lot of people along the way, and mostly people are turning it down. Hell no, I'm not getting on that building and stuff. So Booney dropped, yeah, I might be in. I might do that. And then there was a conflict that hit. He said, I can't because of the dates. And then this year, he's like, yeah, yeah, I'll do it. And then there was a little hesitation. You know, there, I think, I was like, all right, I called. Can they announce? And he's like, well, let me sleep on it. And then I think it was about 48 hours had to go by where he's like, I'm still thinking. And then he's like, I'll do it. And he stepped up to the plate. And now he's an official member of the repel team. I learned pretty early on with cash that anything in this department is possible. So he asked me last year. He asked me again this year. And I'm really glad I did it. It's all for the kids. I mean, in a good year, we have 5,000 to 500 people. Two thirds of which are kids. This year is going to be a bit of a different story. But it's still going to be fun. I've waited all year for this. My children, everybody, we've waited all year. We do all the events downtown, live at 5,000. You know, this is the highest in the lights. This is the best one. Have fun, enjoy yourself. This is the only thing I like? I like it. You're good. You're comfortable? In there, I heard, it seems like you're fine. Everything looks good. Yeah. I'll double check. Feels, should be all right. Get ready. I mean, it really is just an indescribably fun, good feeling. Once you're in, okay, once you're flipped into the room, okay, harnesses don't fail, ropes don't fail, you are good to go, okay? We have, everything is doubled up. This is doubled. Can I fail? Yeah, you can just freak out and hang out up there, and then we can snap the rope from the bottom and you'll come down and literally come and tell them. Got it. You know, there's a bond, you know, with the repel team especially, and then the support staff and the crew. You know, it's a special bond that's been created. And it's also really cool to be a part of something that projects a Good at Family show. You know, ultimately, I feel like you get about 6,000 people potentially down below the building, you know, in a non-COVID environment. And, you know, they're there with their kids, and it's just a blast to hear the joy and the happiness and the start of Christmas essentially. And so, it's really cool to be a part of that.