These tales are actually very real, I just couldn't think of a title and that's a banger of a song by Arctic Monkeys, back in the mid 2000s when for a fleeting moment, they mattered.
Let me start by saying this, I love San Francisco. It's completely different to Southern California. The weather is different, the streets look different, the people look different, the houses look different. It may as well be in a different state. Just a shame it's one of the most expensive cities in the world otherwise i would happily live there.
Bizarrely, like Matt in South Carolina, i have another mate of over 30 years, Rich, that lives up there. We reconnected last year after a few years of life changes for both of us as i took a solo road trip up the coast, mid pandemic, stopping overnight in San Simeon, meeting him and his lovely girlfriend Anita for lunch in Big Sur and having a couple of good nights out.
So now that I've got into somewhat of a habit of spending a weekend in an American city and taking in multiple sporting events, it seemed a good enough time to go back, see some action and hang out with an old friend.
What made this idea more appealing was the race at the top of the NL West between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. Tied for first place on my arrival, in not just that division but the overall league. Two teams approaching the end of the regular season, both with a legitimate chance of a World Series and both desperate to finish ahead of the other, avoiding a longer and more difficult journey to achieving the ultimate prize. This weekend featured three back to back games between the them at the Giant's iconic, Oracle Park which sits on the Bay and usually involves fans in kayaks waiting for home run balls.
We would take in the first of these three games as well as the short trip to San Jose the following night for a MLS game.
I caught a very quick and easy flight up there on Friday afternoon, Rich picked me up and we quickly dropped off my stuff at his place and like two ageing middle aged men in denial of their wavering drinking capabilities, headed straight to a local bar.
Things were going calmly at Barebottle Brewing company, a steady pace and a delicious BBQ being served up next to us outside. Until Rich's mate Brady from work showed up, who he'd actually never met because of working from home - how 2021 is that? Brady seemed eager to accelerate the pace of drinking and there we can draw a very clear line in the evening.
I liked Brady a lot, a lanky bald figure with a good sense of humor. He was a rare breed of white American male - well travelled and well informed. He slipped into our unique three decade long banter like a duck to water.
From there, after an outstanding Tri Tip sandwich from said BBQ, we took an Uber to a bar across the street from the stadium. A few more drinks were consumed as well as i have to say, possibly the nicest french fries i've ever tasted - and i take my quality of fries very seriously.
It was time for the game, we bid a fond farewell to Brad and walked the short walk to Oracle Park. It is from here that you get a fantastic view of the ball park, perched on the Bay with a slight chill and nervous anticipation in the air.
The Giants and the Dodgers are fierce rivals, about as fierce as it gets in American sports. In 2013, a Dodgers fan was fatally stabbed outside the Giants' stadium, a very rare instance of fan violence, more in line with 1980's soccer culture in England. As someone that grew up in England and witnessed that culture first hand, my instinct, despite being here fourteen years now, was to wonder if wearing a Dodgers hat would put me in some kind of danger. I was very wrong.
My neighbor, a Dodgers fan who lived in San Francisco for a while, reassured me there would probably be a pretty even split of fans at this game and he was right. Actually on the local sports talk radio the next day they were discussing how well behaved both sets of fans were and how it was tense - but never crossed the line. They commented on how many Giants fans could be seen walking around with a friend in Dodgers gear - that was us.
Our seats were high up but low enough in the top section and central enough to enjoy a fantastic panoramic view of the park and the Bay to the right. It‘s a stunning venue, feels like a proper ball park, even though it’s only twenty years old.
Unlike any sporting event in Europe, the fans are not segregated, they happily sit amongst each other and for the most part, it's all good fun. It was definitely loud and people had definitely been drinking and were amped up but i got no serious abuse other than some boos and shouts of "let's go Giants" in my face as we walked around, soaking up the atmosphere.
A beautiful ball park, an electric atmosphere and another iconic American stadium checked off the list.
Due to my love of the Golden Gate bridge, we spent a couple of hours on Saturday taking in the different breathtaking views across the bridge from the city and up to the left. This was an area I had never been to before, only the busy vista point to the right, so i very much appreciated Rich letting me be a tourist for a while.
After a quick, old man cat nap back at his place, we headed to San Jose around mid afternoon via train. This brought back some great memories of away days in the 90s watching Stockport. This train was a little different, it wasn't full of lads on the beer singing inappropriate songs to innocent weekend shoppers. Until that is, another mate of Rich's joined us at one of the stations about half way. Darren was from London, a big Tottenham fan, slightly older than us and an certain allure about him that suggested the odd rumble back in the day watching Spurs. Darren sat down next to me after a firm handshake, with a paper grocery bag that I instantly knew, from the 5-10 seconds it took me to figure him out, contained cans of lager. I gleefully accepted one for nostalgic value and the day started to resemble the one before, where everything was quiet until the peace was broken.
Darren was a great bloke as it turns out and we headed into downtown San Jose for some pre match refreshments. One of the reasons I was interested in this game, which was against the in-form Colorado Rapids by the way, was not only was it another stadium to visit and MLS had peaked my interest recently, it appeared from pictures online and reviews that it included "America's largest outdoor bar". That statement was from 2015 so I'm not sure if it's still true but it was appealing enough to have a look.
PayPal Park is very similar to the homes of LAFC and Galaxy, fairly new and mid range size, smaller than the two LA clubs, it holds just under 20,000 but similarly very open in it's design. Upon entering at one end, you are greeted by what is indeed a giant bar. This bar is unlike any I've ever seen at any stadium. For a start it's double sided, it takes up most of the area behind one goal and behind it features a large grass area with food trucks and a giant screen with the game on.
It also features extremely long bar top style counters which allows you to stand and watch the game with a drink. Also behind this goal congregates a section of die hard "Quakes" fans with flags and drums and non stop singing. They appear to be the secondary supporters group as the main "ultras" congregate behind the opposite goal. It was nice to see a bit of diversity on display.
We actually never took our seats at this game, i couldn't even tell you where they were. We stood, had a drink, enjoyed the game and soaked up a great atmosphere.
Towards the end of the game we took advantage of one of the food trucks where I got some incredible bacon covered tater tots and sat on the grass and watched via the screen, as Colorado snatched a somewhat predictable last minute goal to win 1-0. It had been coming.
After the game, a party broke out, perhaps unusually after a 1-0 defeat but it had been pre-arranged so what can you do? It was "Mexican heritage night", behind our goal so we didn’t have to walk far, fully equipped with a DJ, extended opening of the bar, lots of singing and dancing and even a conga line, to something that wasn't the conga. Clearly the Quakes have a loyal and passionate fan base and don't have much to cheer about on the pitch but they certainly have a great time off it.
This was truly a unique experience. A younger version of me may have scoffed at the absurdity of it all and complained like a little Englander that it just wasn't how things are done. "If it's not like England it's not right", is an attitude I've witnessed too many times now, to the point where I embrace the opposite. Something about the culture of this game, the innovative work of the likes of Copa 90 and the short films they produce have broadened my mindset to embrace the global game and enjoy the fact that different places do things differently. It's easy to sneer at the MLS as a European and many still do but you know what, they do things their way and they do it very well.
I won't mention the issues we had with Ubers back home but let's just say it was nice to be the calm one for a change.
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