San Francisco is covered in black and orange, not for Halloween but in celebration of the Giants’ recent World Series berth. The whole Bay Area has Giants fever and with good reason. It has been eight long years since the Giants have been to the World Series and six years since they have even made the playoffs. The Giants’ World Series berth is the classic Cinderella story; few people, even the most loyal fans, expected them to make it this far, let alone to the playoffs.
Having low expectations is a common feeling among Giants fans, which makes this great play-off run even sweeter for them. It’s the same feeling you have when you take a test that you didn’t study for, you don’t expect to pass the test and you certainly don’t anticipate a good grade: anything over a C- is a bonus. Getting an A on that test is a feeling of complete joy and amazement, which are exactly the same feelings Giants fans experience with each game the team wins.
With the Giants, it’s never completely joyful because they always win in the most stressful of ways. Duane Kuiper, the play-by- play broadcaster for the Giants labeled this season with the slogan “Giants’ Baseball: Torture.”
Kuiper’s slogan sums up the season perfectly; Giants games are always tense for fans, the team wins a lot of one-run games and does it intense fashion. In some weird way, the tortuous winning style makes the Giants more enjoyable to root for and the whole Bay Area is jumping on the bandwagon.
Living in the Bay Area, its hard not to get sucked into the Giants’ playoff quest; literally everyone is talking about them 24/7.
It is incredible how much support they have received. The reason for it is because the Giants are the only successful professional team in the Bay Area, so everyone is rallying around the Giants; the people of the Bay Area need a winning team to root for. This playoff run is great for the Bay Area, not just because it gives people a team to support but it has also been a huge boost to the economy and it has given the Giants and San Francisco a ton of exposure, Hotels are booked out, as out of town fans flock to the city to cheer for and against the Giants. It has been an incredible boom to the local economy and it will only get better for the World Series games.
A recent article from the San Francisco Chronicle discussed the amount of business the playoffs have brought to local businesses, apparel stores and San Francisco as a whole. According to the article, “Sales at the ballpark Dugout store are about 150 percent higher than normal on game days…At the five Dugout stores in malls around the area, sales are 20 times higher than they are when the Giants are done in October. About one-third of sales are postseason merchandise.”
The Giants have also received a lot of exposure, showing off the beauty of AT&T Park, the rabid fans that inhabit it and the great city that holds it. AT&T Park is the best park in baseball; the breathtaking views, delicious food and raucous crowd are what make the park the best.
Anyone that has been to a game can attest to that. I was at game four of the Phillies’ series and the crowd was absolutely incredible. Orange towels were being waved furiously and the noise level was at mach-engine level. People of the Bay Area have always known how great AT&T is but now every base- ball fan can see.
The restaurants around AT&T Park have increased their hours to support the amount of traffic they are experiencing. Finding a cab on the same day as a Giants game has become a nightmare as the majority of them are headed to the ballpark.
So now the Giants head into the World Series, hoping to win the teamís first World Series since moving to San Francisco. It has been a long time since Giants fans have seen them win a World Series; they deserve a win, especially af- ter going through such a tortuous season. The Bay Area also needs a championship desperately.
Editor-in-Chief: Heather Spellacy
Chief Copy-Editor: Burke McSwain
Sports Editor: Matt Steinbach
