I get excited this time of year. Anticipation of skiing has been building and I am eagerly awaiting the fist day on the mountain. This year is lining up to be an early start. First it snowed hard in New York state. Then Jackson Hole got a good dump. Now there is snow in the Sierra. We could be skiing as soon as this next weekend. All very exciting, but there is something else pulling at my psyche right now...
THE GIANTS ARE IN THE WORLD SERIES!
I played baseball growing up and through High School. I love to watch the game at all levels. I will occasionally stop at the little league field on the way home to see part of a game. I followed my kids High School team. I even "adopted" a girls fast pitch softball team over the summer (go Redwood Empire!). I saw all their games as they tried to play their way into the little league World Series. I catch some Giants games at the park and many more on TV. I even go to a few A's games. I guess that I am a fan but not a "fanatic".
This year has been different. The Giants were set to compete for the division title from the start. Then things went haywire. Studs from last year like the Panda and Tim Lincecum struggled. New faces stepped in and carried the team. Each day, week, or month had a different hero. Management pulled all the right strings. The Giants hung around all summer and then made a late push. The season was coming down to the wire and each game was agony. They won with pitching so the games tended to be close, low scoring contests. You could not relax until the game was over because one swing of the bat could ruin it all! In the end the Giants won the division. But barely. A last victory kept them out of a three way playoff for the post season.
The Giants did prevail however and then went on to dispatch both the Braves and the Phillies to win the pennant. The Philly series was an incredible micro version of the whole year. Winning each contest by one run with the game on the line until the last out. The sixth game had my stomach tied in knots until the final pitch was called strike three. What Agony! What ecstasy! If everything good must come with some suffering, then this was a sweet victory indeed!
Each year the Giants seem to field a solid team. They are in the playoff hunt most years. Some times they make it. Some times they don't. We have won a few pennants here in San Francisco but never a World Series. The organization has won World Series' in the past but as the New York Giants. Since moving here to San Francisco- nada. We are overdue. Is this the year of destiny? It seems to be so far!
I am not the only person who has been swept up by the Giants this year. On the radio talk shows the excitement mounted as the season wound down. On the streets people were talking. It went to fever pitch during the playoffs. Now on Bart or driving around on the streets, a giants hat will get a response. A nod. A thumbs up. A smile and a wave with a "go giants!" mouthed through glass. At the shop, employees and customers are both engaged with the teams exploits. My local Quick Stop Market is run by nice people from a country that is soccer oriented. They usually only watch soccer or the the news at work. Now they are watching Giants games and saying "how about them Giants?" when customers approach the counter. It is truly wonderful how a team can bring a diverse community like ours together. I hope we get to see the party grow into an even bigger and happier one as the World Series is played out.
I will go into work now for a few hours. Then I will knock off and drive to Tracy to watch the game with some friends. I hope that the Giants win. I hope that Tim Lincecum throws a gem in front of a national audience. I hope that Cody, or Buster, or someone more obscure will get to be the hero. My hope is not just for me, but for the whole Bay Area, and the entire Giants Nation.
I also hope we will ski soon. But right now my attention is on the Giants. For them. For me. For us all. Take some time and get involved. This is a rare opportunity to say you remember the World Series of 2010 and that special team. Then we will ski....
But for now...
GO GIANTS!
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