Wednesday, June 25, 2008
30 YEARS OF BEING A GIANTS FAN
June 24, 1978: Roger Metzger slapped a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the San Francisco Giants a 2-1 victory over the visiting Atlanta Braves at Candlestick Park.
That was my first major league game, 30 years ago yesterday. I became a Giants fan in April of that year, when I decided I needed a favortie team. I asked my dad who he rooted for, and he said the Giants. Immediately, my blood turned from red to orange. A couple months later we visitied my grandparents in Millbrae, and my dad took me to the Stick for that afternoon tilt against the Braves. This was actually back during those few years when Candlestick Park had artificial turf instead of grass. I don't think I ever realized that, until a few years ago when ESPN Classic reran an episode of This Week In Baseball from that week. I taped it, hoping they'd show a highlight or two from that game, and sure enough, they did: Jim Barr struck out some Braves batter, maybe Biff Pocoroba. Time of game, one hour, fifty-two minutes. Wow...brisk.
So I thought about all of the good things that have happened since I became a Giants fan. There have definitely been more moments of sadness and disgust than there have been of joy and elation. Maybe someday I'll write about the top 10 worst things the Giants have done to me since 1978, but for now, I'll just talk about...
THE TOP 10 MOMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF MY BEING A GIANTS FAN
First some honorable mentions: Joe Morgan's home run, although I might still have been a little too inexperienced as a baseball fan to really understand what it meant at the time...Will Clark's first-pitch slam against Maddux in the 1989 NLCS....Barry Bonds' celebration with the fans on the top of the dugout following the 1997 N.L. West clincher...Brian Johnson's home run...Dave Dravecky's shutout in the 1987 NLCS (it made me think, wow, we really can win in October, can't we?)...and Willie McCovey's final game at Candlestick Park, which I attended. That was another case of being too young to understand what it all meant at the time, but looking back I am happy to have been there, and I still remember the ovations he got. And now, on with the countdown.
10. BARRY BONDS' 756TH HOME RUN, 2007
Under ordinary circumstances this moment would be ranked much higher, but with all the steroid talk going on, it kind of brought the excitement down a bit. It just didn't seem like the most momentous occasion the way it should have, but it was a San Francisco Giant doing something amazing, so it has to be here.
9. GETTING OUT OF THE JAM IN THE 9TH AGAINST THE BRAVES, 2002 NLDS
When Nen allowed the first two Atlanta batters to reach base in the bottom of the 9th of Game 5, I thought, oh, no, here we go. They're gonna blow this 3-1 lead and it's going to be yet another thing to be frustrated about until I die. But then he struck out Sheffield and got Chipper to hit one directly to J.T. at first for the double play to end it, I felt like collapsing on the floor more out of relief than happiness. It was pretty much the first time I could remember the Giants nutting up and coming through in a hugely tense situation like that. I don't think I have ever been as nervous watching a Giants game as I was that night.
8. BARRY BONDS' 69 HOME RUN, 2001
In the spring of 2001, my family planned a San Francisco vacation for the last weekend in September, and we got tickets to a Giants game for that Saturday. Little did we know that Barry would be pursuing the home run record at that time, so we kind of got lucky. Barry was sitting on #68 for that game, and when he launched his 69th over the right field wall, we had a brilliant view of it: First row, second deck, down the right field line. The atmosphere was absolutely electric, and I'm glad I was there to see one of the late home runs in person.
7. BARRY BONDS' 71ST HOME RUN, 2001
The day after #69, I ditched my family, telling them, look, I absolutely have to be there if Barry hits #70 and maybe #71. So I found a scalper, dropped a C-note, and got in. Well, he didn't hit one out that day, but at least I was there. I also got to see a really nice tribute to Tony Gwynn, who was playing his last road game that day. Seeing all the Giants crowd around him and hugging him during a pre-game presentation actually made me cry a bit. Don't tell anyone. Anyway, got back to Portland and watched on a small screen at Wanigan's as Barry broke McGwire's record. I yelled pretty loudly in celebration and didn't have to comp anyone's drinks for it.
6. J.T. SNOW'S HOME RUN, 2000 NLDS
It might seem strange, what with Barry's home runs, and Joe and Will and Matty and Robby and Brian going all clutch with their home runs, that this home run would be my favorite Giants home run of all-time. For that one moment, anyway, it was bliss. Down 4-1 in the bottom of the 9th against the Mets, J.T. launched a rocket that hit the top of the wall for a three-run homer to tie Game 2. I still remember Thom Brennaman's call of "And it's goooooooone!" Electrifying. Yeah, we lost the next inning, and went on the lose the series, but it was the most clutch home run a Giant fan has hit in the last 30 years. And you can look it up to verify, but I think it's the only time in MLB history that a postseason game has been tied up with a 3-run home run in the last inning. Look it up; I'm almost certain I'm right.
5. KENNY LOFTON'S PENNANT-WINNING HIT, 2002 NLCS
It's always more fun, if also nerve-wracking, to have your team win a big game with a walk-off hit of some kind. Kenny's line drive into right that brought home David Bell with the run that sent the Giants to the World Series was quite dramatic, no? And seeing Barry rush onto the field to join in the group hug and realizing, yes, he's going to the Series for the first time, well, that was awesome.
4. THE FIRST 6 1/2 INNINGS OF GAME 6 OF THE WORLD SERIES, 2002
Once Shawon hit that homer to put us up 2-0, and then we got another run, and then Barry hit one out, and then Kent singled in Kenny, and it was 5-0...5-0 with three innings left? We're going to win the World Series!...Well, it made me happy for at least a few minutes. Then it started to suck when the bottom of the 7th played out. But right around the 6th inning? Bliss! I don't care if we lost. I was amazingly happy at about 8 o'clock that night. Nine o'clock not so much, and that part of the game is not on this list.
3. THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT, 1989
My first time in the World Series with my team. You can imagine.
2. THE ENTIRE 1993 SEASON
Yes, I know we lost a double-digit game lead in the West Division. Yes, I know we didn't make the playoffs. But is there a Giants fan alive who remembers how that whole season went, and how great of a pennant race it was, who would not rank it on a good things list? No, we didn't make the playoffs, but that whole season was much better than a short week-long playoff series. Especially considering that we have the wild card system in place now, which would have effectively made that entire season a complete bore: Obviously, the Braves and Giants both would have made the playoffs, since one of them would have been the wild card, and no one would have cared. We cared. And we loved it. Yeah, the last game (a 12-1 drubbing by L.A. that needed to be a win for us) sucked. But it was the last great pennant race (that's right, the last one. We can't have another one like it; the wild-card system makes that impossible), and we as Giants fans were smack dab in the middle of it.
1. WINNING THE NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST, 1987
It just seemed like I had to wait so long. In retrospect it was only ten seasons, which doesn't seem like much. But when it seems like it's your whole life, and you finally get there, it's magical. Prior to that season, I would look upon the baseball playoffs as a truly special time of year that the Giants just didn't get to participate in. I couldn't fathom the Giants being a part of it. It was something the Mets did, or the Yankees, or the Royals, or the Pirates, or the Dodgers, or the Phillies. Not us. And listening to the KNBR broadcast of this game, which I still have on a cassette somewhere (yes, we can get 680 at night in Portland), was just surreal. When Ron Fairly described Jeffrey Leonard catching that last ball to clinch it, and hearing that we won, and realizing, oh my god, we finally got into the playoffs! Best time ever. Doesn't matter now that we lost to St. Louis in the NLCS; it just made me stronger.
That was my first major league game, 30 years ago yesterday. I became a Giants fan in April of that year, when I decided I needed a favortie team. I asked my dad who he rooted for, and he said the Giants. Immediately, my blood turned from red to orange. A couple months later we visitied my grandparents in Millbrae, and my dad took me to the Stick for that afternoon tilt against the Braves. This was actually back during those few years when Candlestick Park had artificial turf instead of grass. I don't think I ever realized that, until a few years ago when ESPN Classic reran an episode of This Week In Baseball from that week. I taped it, hoping they'd show a highlight or two from that game, and sure enough, they did: Jim Barr struck out some Braves batter, maybe Biff Pocoroba. Time of game, one hour, fifty-two minutes. Wow...brisk.
So I thought about all of the good things that have happened since I became a Giants fan. There have definitely been more moments of sadness and disgust than there have been of joy and elation. Maybe someday I'll write about the top 10 worst things the Giants have done to me since 1978, but for now, I'll just talk about...
THE TOP 10 MOMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF MY BEING A GIANTS FAN
First some honorable mentions: Joe Morgan's home run, although I might still have been a little too inexperienced as a baseball fan to really understand what it meant at the time...Will Clark's first-pitch slam against Maddux in the 1989 NLCS....Barry Bonds' celebration with the fans on the top of the dugout following the 1997 N.L. West clincher...Brian Johnson's home run...Dave Dravecky's shutout in the 1987 NLCS (it made me think, wow, we really can win in October, can't we?)...and Willie McCovey's final game at Candlestick Park, which I attended. That was another case of being too young to understand what it all meant at the time, but looking back I am happy to have been there, and I still remember the ovations he got. And now, on with the countdown.
10. BARRY BONDS' 756TH HOME RUN, 2007
Under ordinary circumstances this moment would be ranked much higher, but with all the steroid talk going on, it kind of brought the excitement down a bit. It just didn't seem like the most momentous occasion the way it should have, but it was a San Francisco Giant doing something amazing, so it has to be here.
9. GETTING OUT OF THE JAM IN THE 9TH AGAINST THE BRAVES, 2002 NLDS
When Nen allowed the first two Atlanta batters to reach base in the bottom of the 9th of Game 5, I thought, oh, no, here we go. They're gonna blow this 3-1 lead and it's going to be yet another thing to be frustrated about until I die. But then he struck out Sheffield and got Chipper to hit one directly to J.T. at first for the double play to end it, I felt like collapsing on the floor more out of relief than happiness. It was pretty much the first time I could remember the Giants nutting up and coming through in a hugely tense situation like that. I don't think I have ever been as nervous watching a Giants game as I was that night.
8. BARRY BONDS' 69 HOME RUN, 2001
In the spring of 2001, my family planned a San Francisco vacation for the last weekend in September, and we got tickets to a Giants game for that Saturday. Little did we know that Barry would be pursuing the home run record at that time, so we kind of got lucky. Barry was sitting on #68 for that game, and when he launched his 69th over the right field wall, we had a brilliant view of it: First row, second deck, down the right field line. The atmosphere was absolutely electric, and I'm glad I was there to see one of the late home runs in person.
7. BARRY BONDS' 71ST HOME RUN, 2001
The day after #69, I ditched my family, telling them, look, I absolutely have to be there if Barry hits #70 and maybe #71. So I found a scalper, dropped a C-note, and got in. Well, he didn't hit one out that day, but at least I was there. I also got to see a really nice tribute to Tony Gwynn, who was playing his last road game that day. Seeing all the Giants crowd around him and hugging him during a pre-game presentation actually made me cry a bit. Don't tell anyone. Anyway, got back to Portland and watched on a small screen at Wanigan's as Barry broke McGwire's record. I yelled pretty loudly in celebration and didn't have to comp anyone's drinks for it.
6. J.T. SNOW'S HOME RUN, 2000 NLDS
It might seem strange, what with Barry's home runs, and Joe and Will and Matty and Robby and Brian going all clutch with their home runs, that this home run would be my favorite Giants home run of all-time. For that one moment, anyway, it was bliss. Down 4-1 in the bottom of the 9th against the Mets, J.T. launched a rocket that hit the top of the wall for a three-run homer to tie Game 2. I still remember Thom Brennaman's call of "And it's goooooooone!" Electrifying. Yeah, we lost the next inning, and went on the lose the series, but it was the most clutch home run a Giant fan has hit in the last 30 years. And you can look it up to verify, but I think it's the only time in MLB history that a postseason game has been tied up with a 3-run home run in the last inning. Look it up; I'm almost certain I'm right.
5. KENNY LOFTON'S PENNANT-WINNING HIT, 2002 NLCS
It's always more fun, if also nerve-wracking, to have your team win a big game with a walk-off hit of some kind. Kenny's line drive into right that brought home David Bell with the run that sent the Giants to the World Series was quite dramatic, no? And seeing Barry rush onto the field to join in the group hug and realizing, yes, he's going to the Series for the first time, well, that was awesome.
4. THE FIRST 6 1/2 INNINGS OF GAME 6 OF THE WORLD SERIES, 2002
Once Shawon hit that homer to put us up 2-0, and then we got another run, and then Barry hit one out, and then Kent singled in Kenny, and it was 5-0...5-0 with three innings left? We're going to win the World Series!...Well, it made me happy for at least a few minutes. Then it started to suck when the bottom of the 7th played out. But right around the 6th inning? Bliss! I don't care if we lost. I was amazingly happy at about 8 o'clock that night. Nine o'clock not so much, and that part of the game is not on this list.
3. THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT, 1989
My first time in the World Series with my team. You can imagine.
2. THE ENTIRE 1993 SEASON
Yes, I know we lost a double-digit game lead in the West Division. Yes, I know we didn't make the playoffs. But is there a Giants fan alive who remembers how that whole season went, and how great of a pennant race it was, who would not rank it on a good things list? No, we didn't make the playoffs, but that whole season was much better than a short week-long playoff series. Especially considering that we have the wild card system in place now, which would have effectively made that entire season a complete bore: Obviously, the Braves and Giants both would have made the playoffs, since one of them would have been the wild card, and no one would have cared. We cared. And we loved it. Yeah, the last game (a 12-1 drubbing by L.A. that needed to be a win for us) sucked. But it was the last great pennant race (that's right, the last one. We can't have another one like it; the wild-card system makes that impossible), and we as Giants fans were smack dab in the middle of it.
1. WINNING THE NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST, 1987
It just seemed like I had to wait so long. In retrospect it was only ten seasons, which doesn't seem like much. But when it seems like it's your whole life, and you finally get there, it's magical. Prior to that season, I would look upon the baseball playoffs as a truly special time of year that the Giants just didn't get to participate in. I couldn't fathom the Giants being a part of it. It was something the Mets did, or the Yankees, or the Royals, or the Pirates, or the Dodgers, or the Phillies. Not us. And listening to the KNBR broadcast of this game, which I still have on a cassette somewhere (yes, we can get 680 at night in Portland), was just surreal. When Ron Fairly described Jeffrey Leonard catching that last ball to clinch it, and hearing that we won, and realizing, oh my god, we finally got into the playoffs! Best time ever. Doesn't matter now that we lost to St. Louis in the NLCS; it just made me stronger.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
IF YOU ARE NOT A HOCKEY FAN, TOO BAD
I know that the NHL has done a crapload to get people to become totally disinterested in the sport of hockey. So if you're a former fan who has been disillusioned, I can at least understand, and if you have never liked it, well, you're probably not Canadian, so I guess I'll give you a pass there too. But anyone who watched the three-overtime Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals last night (and this morning, for East Coasters) knows that those who didn't watch it missed a hell of a game.
Detroit Red Wings fans were almost delirious as the final minute began to tick down, their team closing in on a 3-2 victory and a Stanley Cup championship. But Maxime Talbot kept the Pittsburgh Penguins alive by scoring with 35 seconds left to force overtime. Well, three overtimes, actually, as it turned out. Pittsburgh's Petr Sykora put an end to the thrilling proceedings well after midnight local time by scoring a goal that forced a Game 6 against Detroit, and not long after telling NBC sideline reporter Pierre McGuire that he would indeed score the overtime winner. Now, I'm not too big on predictions like that ("We're gonna win Game 6" -- oh, yeah? Well, someone has to win, and probably players from both sides said that...that kind of thing) but the fact that he came through made it pretty cool. It was made even cooler by the fact that McGuire had relayed Sykora's aside to the viewing audience before the goal.
Also, how tough are hockey players? The Penguins' Ryan Malone, who already had a broken nose, was pummeled by a Hal Gill slapshot right on said beak, and he left the game leaving a trail of blood on the ice. And then he came back to play some more. Who does that? Hockey players. Toughest guys ever.
Worst photograph ever: Oh. My. God.
This is a photograph of some drugged-up piece of shit crashing his car into a group of bicyclists out for a family event on a Mexico City road. I mean, holy hell. At least one of the cyclists was killed.
I'm against the death penalty, but if you're for it after seeing this picture, I understand. This is a gruesome but remarkable photograph, and one that does the accident justice, for lack of better word. When we hear about accidents like this -- if we can call it an "accident" -- usually all we see is a body under a blanket and some bicycle parts strewn about the road. I suppose I am posting it not to sicken anyone but just to show how devastating this incident really was.
Detroit Red Wings fans were almost delirious as the final minute began to tick down, their team closing in on a 3-2 victory and a Stanley Cup championship. But Maxime Talbot kept the Pittsburgh Penguins alive by scoring with 35 seconds left to force overtime. Well, three overtimes, actually, as it turned out. Pittsburgh's Petr Sykora put an end to the thrilling proceedings well after midnight local time by scoring a goal that forced a Game 6 against Detroit, and not long after telling NBC sideline reporter Pierre McGuire that he would indeed score the overtime winner. Now, I'm not too big on predictions like that ("We're gonna win Game 6" -- oh, yeah? Well, someone has to win, and probably players from both sides said that...that kind of thing) but the fact that he came through made it pretty cool. It was made even cooler by the fact that McGuire had relayed Sykora's aside to the viewing audience before the goal.
Also, how tough are hockey players? The Penguins' Ryan Malone, who already had a broken nose, was pummeled by a Hal Gill slapshot right on said beak, and he left the game leaving a trail of blood on the ice. And then he came back to play some more. Who does that? Hockey players. Toughest guys ever.
Worst photograph ever: Oh. My. God.This is a photograph of some drugged-up piece of shit crashing his car into a group of bicyclists out for a family event on a Mexico City road. I mean, holy hell. At least one of the cyclists was killed.
I'm against the death penalty, but if you're for it after seeing this picture, I understand. This is a gruesome but remarkable photograph, and one that does the accident justice, for lack of better word. When we hear about accidents like this -- if we can call it an "accident" -- usually all we see is a body under a blanket and some bicycle parts strewn about the road. I suppose I am posting it not to sicken anyone but just to show how devastating this incident really was.
