At Last

I was filled with so many emotions last night My Dad grew up in NY a Giants fan.  By the time I was old enough for him to take me to games, the Yankees were the only team in town. My Dad took me to see Mantle,  Maris, Tresh, Richardson, Howard, Ford.  When he moved to LA, he became an SF Giants fan, which caused some good-natured conflict with my Stepmom, who rooted for the hated Dodgers.  Who were much more successful, of course.  

We went to some great games together, we saw Barry hit his 71st homer, we were at the tragic Game 6 in Anaheim, when we were six outs away.  But no championship.

After we moved to SF in '85, i took up the team.   That meant freezing at Candlestick with crowds around 5,000, that first year they lost 100 games.  I was in the stands when they beat St Louis in '87 to go up 3-2, only to lose the last two.  I was in the stands when the Thrill beat the Cubs in '89, only to be beaten by the A's and Loma Prieta.  Then there was '93, Dusty's first year, when they won 103 games and didn't make the playlets.

David and Kate were raised Giants fans and I loved the fact they they enjoyed going to the ballpark with me.  By 2000  they won the division, only to lose to the Meta.  Kate and I were there for one of the most exciting moments in sports I've ever seen, JT's 3 run shot in the bottom of the 9th to tie game 3, which they lost in the 10th.

Finally in 2002, we were there to see Kenny Lofton put us in the Series, the year we should have won it all.

And now, at last, we have.  Here I am, 3,000 miles and three time zones away.  How can it be that this team was able to do what all those other teams with all those stars couldn't do?   Better pitching, I guess.   It's a funny game.


Gary