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Celebration Elation!

November 3, 2010 By Atticus 7 Comments

I think the most beautiful words in the English language may be “World Series Champions San Francisco Giant’s”!  And we heard a lot of that at today’s parade and celebration for our Series Champions.

Wilbur, mama and I watched the entire event live; both on the telly (SF KGO) and on MLB.com’s live-streaming website.  We would have loved to have been in attendance today with all of the other hundreds of thousand fans, but we settled for front row seats in our office.

Fans were camping in front of the Civic Center last night, just to get a good look at the program.  Others were curbside before dawn with their lawn chairs and coolers.  One elderly gentleman who was interviewed at the junction of Market and Mongomery streets said that he had witnessed the parade in 1958 welcoming the Giant’s to S.F. at this very spot.  Nostalgia.  Excitement.  Joy.  Even through the telly, these elements were tangible.

Giant's fans at the parade

The fans along the parade route were wild with enthusiasm, as vintage convertibles carrying Willie Mays and Willie McCovey drove by.  Motorized cable cars were the vehicle of choice for most of the 2010 squad, and some of the players jumped off to rally the crowd into an even deeper fantastical frenzy.

Brian Wilson, with his famous ebony beard, pranced, danced and skipped along the parade route to the joy of the rapturous fans.  Wilson even sported a fresh mohawk for the occasion and, to this viewer, his demeanor was reminiscent of the actor Zach Galifianakis.

Even Ashkon, the Youtube sensation for his original take on “Don’t Stop Believing” had his own float!  And it was snowing orange confetti on Market Street! (10,000 pounds of confetti, per the press).

The ebullient vibe was contagious!  A KGO reporter noted that if there was “smell-o-vision, you’d think that proposition 19 passed”.  You have to love a San Francisco home crowd!

The Freak was all smiles, repeating “this is just like a dream” to reporters along the parade route.  When asked “what will you do after this?”, Lincecum’s answer was “I’m just enjoying this moment.  I’ll worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes”.  It seems that young Tim was “just thinking like a dog”!  I knew we had a kinship.

The parade concluded with a thoughtful, joyful and tearful tribute on the steps of the Civic Center.  The team, as well as Giant’s front office, management, alumni, families, the Mayor and the Govenor were honored.

In speaking of the unity of the Giant’s organization, Brian Sabean (General Manager) said “at some point, there was no difference between the batboy and the owner”.   This is a team of equanimity, without ego, from the fans right down to the batboy.  I am feeling the Giant’s love and yearn to follow their example…

Aubrey Huff and his famous "rally thong"

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (and newly elected Lieutenant Govenor) spoke of this Giant’s organization using a quote by the Bay Area’s own Jerry Garcia:   “You don’t want to be the best of the best. You want to be the only one who does what you do.”

And that’s what our Giant’s did.  These “misfits” were doing what only they could do… and it was worthy of World Series status.  I’m inspired… are you?

What are you meant to do, that only you can do?  What special, unique gifts do you have to share with the world?

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Years of Torture…Worth it? Freak Yeah!

November 2, 2010 By Atticus 5 Comments

It’s been 56 years since the Giant’s won a World series… and that was in New York.  Now, I am in awe of our San Francisco Giant’s and proud to be a fan!  The Giant’s’ management saw the

vision of finally winning a World Series in San Francisco by uniting a divergent group of athletes that some had labeled “misfits”.  Players that other teams had let go, rookies, players who some said were “has-beens” and unknowns formed a cohesive team that is close to perfect, in this pooches eyes.

World Series Champion, Giant's!

No big names or big egos.  No steroid-deformed big hitters.  I greatly admire scrappiness and the ability to create something grand and great with many little pieces, with unstoppable tenacity.  This Giant’s team embodies the qualities of perseverance, hard-work, cooperation, motivation and hope… in other words, dog-like qualities.

After these past weeks, the entire nation is now throwing around the names of players we have been enamored with since they joined The Giant’s:  Lincecum, Ross, Posey, Renteria, Huff, Sandoval, Wilson, Sanchez, and Torres.  Brian Wilson (Fear the Beard) was even a favorite Halloween costume this year.

With monikers like Kung Fu Panda and The Freak, this team had a special flare long before the national media even noticed.  Now in places far beyond Northern California, baseball lovers are wearing “Let Timmy Smoke” and “Fear the Beard” t-shirts.  Some are surely just jumping on the bandwagon of The Champions, but I think for many, deeper sentiment exists.

I think that fans across the country love to see the underdog prevail, just like with the Saint’s victory earlier this year.  I would like to think that through the example of this special Giant’s squad, and their newfound fans across the country, we can somehow unite, at least on one issue.

Giants win the series!!

We are finally at the end of this divisive election season, so let’s embrace our unity and collective love for the people of this country who really change our lives for the better:  The San Francisco Giant’s!

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Don’t Stop Believing

October 13, 2010 By Atticus 4 Comments

As a baseball fan, I couldn’t be more pleased at the performance by my beloved Giant’s in post-season play so far.  I have a puppy premonition that they will make it to the World Series; to the biggest of The Bigs, for the first time since 2002.  

Fans are… well, fanatical… about the pitching staff and strong bats.  Buster Posey, Brian Wilson, Cody Ross, and Mama’s favorite, sweet young Timmy are proving that the Giant’s are the team to beat.  Everyone is feeling the hope and believing in the dream of a World Series Championship.

Mama was living in the Marina District of San Francisco when the Giant’s were in The Series in 1989; the day of big temblor.  She & her friends came home a bit early from work to ensure beating the traffic so they’d be ready for the first pitch.  This World Series was doubly special for those who grew up in the Bay Area (like my mama), and it was dubbed the Bay Bridge Series, Giant’s vs. A’s.

It was the perfect match up and a gloriously warm Indian summer afternoon.  Mama and her friends congregated at the local pub as the game was about to begin.  The place was crowded and the televisions blaring, when the hanging ceiling lamps began to sway.  And then the elderly bartender lost his footing, and in a nano-second the pub became a roller-coaster with the earth undulating beneath them.

Initially, when “earthquake” registered in mama’s mind, she wasn’t disturbed, as she had experienced earthquakes her entire life.  But it was quickly evident that this was no ordinary slight shift, but a major awakening of the earth.  Mama and the other patrons involuntarily screamed and raced for the exit, only to witness the asphalt of Lombard Street as a moving wave.

Tourists from a nearby hotel were frantic, racing into the street, but mama’s first concern was her cat, Sugar, and she sprinted the two blocks to her apartment building.  Thankfully, Sugar was unharmed, but terrified.  Without electricity, gas, water or telephone, mama and her neighbors gathered together on the rooftop, and watched the marina district burn, while huddling around a small transistor radio.

Strangely, through the chaos and fear post-quake, there was also a feeling of hope.  Hope for our city and hope for our team.  In the days ahead as San Franciscans helped neighbors and family and restored their own abodes, they also held hope that their Giant’s, even in the wake of a devestating earthquake, could come back in the World Series.

Sadly, the Giant’s were swept by the A’s in 1989… But this pup foresees a different outcome this year.  Granted, we have not yet made it to the World Series, but we are almost there… and I have hope!

Don’t Stop Believin‘, Giant’s fans!   I love the fan who made this video and I’m waving my orange rally thong!  (Little known fact:  dogs dig baseball!)

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