A San Francisco Experience – Go Giants!

San Francisco on summer evenings was often unique and that Tuesday was no different. The air was cool, with a breeze brisk enough to nip under collars and ruffle sleeves. She watched workers and shoppers crowding the cracked sidewalks, each person walking, strolling, or sprinting to destinations unknown to her. Some were intent, moving rapidly along, eyes riveted forward; others walked in cadence to their own chatter, engrossed in conversation with their cell phones pressed against their ears, oblivious to the chaos around them. A few homeless folks had found sidewalk settings where they would spend the evening staring sadly through blurry-eyes, lost in a consciousness of some phantom making. Bicycles dangerously darted in and out of traffic, invincible riders pushing the envelope, while cars, large and small, angled between delivery trucks and taxicabs, all inching forward minding the flicker of green and red signals like obedient children.

Exiting the car on Second Street beneath the concrete roadway of the Bay Bridge, she moved forward, flanked by two, forever friends who would accompany her to a venue just five blocks downhill by the San Francisco Bay itself. Maneuvering through the masses, the trio clutched their belongings close, and made their way down crowed sidewalks, across transit tracks, and into the city streets ignoring signals that urged them to stop, look, and listen before crossing. It was Tuesday night though, an evening in June 2014 when the only thing that mattered was the Giants game. No one was apt to follow the rules of the road. The throngs thrust forward, aiming toward the broad, red, brick building that was AT&T Park.

A quick pit stop at Majita for margaritas, chips, and salsa set the tone. The friends gathered a companion and moved on single-mindedly. Only one thing mattered at this point. Go Giants! It was almost game time. With seats directly behind home plate, and armed with cold beers and deluxe, ballpark franks, the quartet of friends allowed their anticipation to seethe into excitement.

After snapping a few photos with their iPhones, they simply sat, absorbing the lights, sounds, and action. Colorful neon lights flashed news, photos, and stats on the gigantic billboard and shimmered in frenetic bands that encircled the stadium itself; flags fluttered in the breezy night wind; intense, panels of lights, hundreds of them, flickered on, lighting the field as though it were midday though the sky had darkened to a charcoal grey. The organ player pounded loud, vibrant sounds, the rhythms all too familiar to the regulars there. Food was everywhere, vendors shouting, “Peanuts, cotton candy, kettle corn, here! Get your hot dogs! Hot chocolate! Get your churros here!”

The seats filled. Folks of every size, shape, height, and ethnicity found their ways to a single space that was theirs, lodging almost intimately next to family, friends, and strangers. They were all together, over 41,000 strong, united in harmony that warmed the heart. Worries about this cool night had disappeared with the sunset. Camaraderie, anticipation, enthusiasm, and solidarity heated the stadium now, where under the lights, no matter what the outcome, folks had fun. From “Play Ball” to “And that’s the game!” it was a party, and win or lose, it was one to remember!