San Francisco Giants
I’ve been a Giants fan since I saw my first game in 1986 (a 16-inning marathon that ruined baseball forever for my sister) From 1987 to 1994 my mom and I were attending games at Candlestick on a regular basis. We had season tickets (either 40-game pick’em or half-season plans) in the upper deck, initially behind third base but eventually behind the plate instead. We also attended spring training a couple times in the early 90s and even managed to work in staying in the Giants’ hotel when the whole family took a trip to Philadelphia.
Yeah, we were pretty die-hard with our hats covered in croixes de candlestick and our tundra kits prepacked and ready to go. My mom and I were at the Stick for the 1989 earthquake and at the “last game” in 1992 when the move to St. Petersburg was a done deal.
After 1994, it took a while for us to get back in the groove of things. I think it was finally the 1997 season when we both played hookie from work to take in the deciding series against the Dodgers (including the Brian Johnson game) that we felt okay with baseball again.
Too bad it was a short hurrah. While I love
Pac Bell SBC Park, the place is still too trendy for me.
Every time I go there it feels like debutante night with people more
interested in talking on their mobile phones or taking pictures than
watching the game. So the move, while good for the team, has taken
me out of the habit of attending ball games.
I still cringe when I think about the 2002 World Series but I also feel my fandom slipping away. It’s pretty sad, I’ve been less interested in the Giants each subsequent season. I’ll always remain a fan but it’s come a long way from the kid who always wore a Giants cap in both high school and college.
