Raining Black and Orange

Haily MacDonald

Malaika Costello-Dougherty

LA 280 Perspective Journalism

October 31, 2012

Raining Black and Orange

            You can easily say black and orange confetti falling from the sky was not in the weather report this morning, unless you are lucky enough to be in San Francisco. The whole city was painted in black and orange, showing their love to their beloved San Francisco Giants after sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the 2012 World Series.

            If you thought the 2010 World Series Victory Parade was huge, you would be amazed by this years turn out. Every corner was jammed pack with fans cheering and waiting for the parade to begin so they could catch the slightest glimpses of their favorite players. Why even keep the city shops, businesses and classes open that day? There is literally no point. Even if you (were one of the few that) went to class, it was uneasy to reach your final destination. San Francisco came out to show their love to their San Francisco Giants and they were there to stay til the last piece of confetti fell. 

            One by one the cars start pulling out and the crowds volumes amplifies what seems like all of the city. Camera’s are flashing, hands are flailing in the air and names are being screeched by the dedicated fans, but they are not the only ones doing so. Buster Posey takes out his phone and snaps some pictures of the crowd, so does Crawford, Pence, Romo and many of the other Giants. I loved it. The players are taking in the moment just as much as the fans, they are showing their appreciation to their fans and consistently say, “Giants fans are the best fans.” The parades rolls down Market street and love fills the air for the San Francisco Giants.

            Two World Series Championships in the past three years, I think I can easily say I am ready for more Giants baseball and Championship number three.

Floating Giants Parade

Floating Giants Parade

The streets were packed with orange and black. Commutes were a pain in the you know what. But that did not stop the Giants fans from attending the parade. The turn out of the parade was incredible. There are definitely more people than the Pride Parade earlier this year.

The parade was quite interesting, then again we are in San Francisco. The fans had costumes as well. Which, of course, today is Halloween. People were carrying brooms around not because they dressed up as witches but to show how they "swept" through the World Series Games. People around here were being creative. They climbed just about anything just to see the parade. Some carried milk crates around so the can stand on it. Minors were constantly hiding their alcoholic beverages. Local shop owners were taking advantage of the even as they sold refreshments even though the weren't a food establishment.

As I trekked along down Market Street I started to get dizzy. It wasn't the constant yelling, not the constant "I just stepped on someone's burrito," not the constant shoving either, it was Mary Jane. People were smoking left to right. I had to step aside into the alley pictured above to get air! I stayed a bit and when I felt I was ok I moved on. I decided to walk down Mission Street instead only to find out this is where the drunks hung out. Crowds in front of liquor stores littered with bottles and empty beer boxes. Worried about being harassed I continued to Market Street instead and the stretch between 6th and 7th Street was by far the worst. It was packed! Pushing and shoving and violating each other on accident trip in one block. 

I decided to just stand and watch the parade unfold on 7th and Market.  Where I saw fans getting distracted by a guy on a unicycle. They made the poor man drink beer but he kept spitting it out and said "I don't drink!" with a smile. He kept on performing for them even though they harassed him a bit. It was all fun and games though. Not a Giants fan but it was a good thing to experience. Would I go again? Maybe if I wasn't alone. Though I wish I would have made it to the Civic Center. It was just too crazy!

A Sea of People

Wednesday, October 31

Jane Pearce

There are so many people at the parade today. I don’t think I have seen so many at one time since the Giants game I attended last year. Being a photographer, I like to scan the people and watch their interactions with others, ad the general emotion of a group of people. As I stand by a bank on Market Street, I stare out at the spectators who are living out a glorious moment for San Francisco and her beloved baseball “band of misfits.” There are so many different kinds of people there. The most popular age group is that of those in their twenties. There are quite a few elderly yet spry fans and there are also a lot of high schoolers that most likely ditched school. Most people are decked out head to toe in black and orange. Some are in Giants gear, some are in business suits. There are also some people dressed up for Halloween. I have to say, San Franciscans are very creative when it comes to dressing up. I saw the Joker, a unicorn, Moses (or someone else from the Old Testament) and a guy who kinda looks like the bunny from Donnie Darko. When I arrive at my post, I make conversation with a couple people around me while the crowd is growing antsy.

I ask Rick: “What did you think about the extra inning in the last game?”

He replied, “Well, I’m not a big baseball fan but I am now. It was cool.”

“Well you picked a good year to become a fan! Who’s your favorite player?”

“Hmm… Definitely Pablo Sandoval. He doesn’t seem like much of an athlete but that guy sure can move.”

We stop talking and I watch all the people singing along to Lights by Journey. I can instantly feel the loyalty of the citizens of so great a city as they sing their hearts out in unison. I ask Katrina what her favorite part of the World Series was. She says,

                                    “My favorite was the first game when we got three runs.”

I agreed that that was a great way to start of the W.S. The crowd goes wild as the parade begins. I hear people behind me explaining to their foreign friend what was going on. At one point, people on a   float were throwing rubber baseballs and he caught it. You should have seen his excitement. A marching band goes by then a bunch of people who work with the team. There were adorable little kids who were running around when they were waiting but were stuck like glue to the ground when the parade started. They were squealing with delight all the way through the parade. Finally the part everyone was waiting for happened; the team drove by. The noise and level of excitement was huge. Finally, the parade ended and everyone went back to their lives. The magic everyone experienced today cannot be fully explained but will be cherished by all forever.

The Other Side of The ‘Giants Fever’

Wed, Oct 31^st, 2012/10/31

Josie Zhao

       Recently, The World Series was a big event in San Francisco. Since the night the game started, a lot people were outside on the streets to support the Giants at nights. It seemed people were really crazy about the games.

       One night I was at home, and I heard a lot noise from outside. At first I was not sure what it was, and then I realized---wow, that was the Giants fans, they were like crazy screaming and jumping on the streets almost like all night long! In the next few nights it happened again as well. Finally, today is Wednesday, October 31^st----- the Giants Parade in San Francisco, and the main street for the parade is Market Street at downtown San Francisco.

       By 1 pm the Giants Parade was almost ended, people started leaving the Market Street. Some people were still pretty excited and enjoyed of the parade. While I was walking on the street by that time, what I saw was the Market Street turned like a big trash disposal area, the garbage are every where. There were so many little pieces of Giants color paper almost filled all of the ground. That was not really good, the streets looked so damaged.

       One women was walking on the street in front of me, she looked like she was going to work, and she walked so carefully with her work outfit and heels. 

Giants parade

Giants parade

Wed, Oct 31, 2012

 Zihe Liu

         I went to Powell Station this morning. I was shocked by the crazy people when I got out of the Muni. I never saw so many people on the street in San Francisco like today, and I could not imagine that people can stand on the trashcan.  Also I saw lots of people stand on the top of the bus station. I hate the crowded street, so I went to the Sephora. I saw some women were painting their faces with Giants colors.  A mother brought her children came in, and she helped the children to paint her face with “SF Giants”. There were so many small pieces of Giants colored-papers flying on the sky and setting on the ground. I could not see anything, because lots of people took pictures with their phone.  I heard everyone was crazy screaming while the Giants team players convertible passing by. Another interesting thing s two people carry a tiger on a broom while walking along Market Street. Also a stuffed tiger is strung up in front of the fence on Market Street. Some people were wearing the panda and tiger hats. I was people in everywhere. I was so confusing when I saw the crazy people stand on the top of building, because I don’t know how did they get there. A Chinese dragon snakes its way up Market Street as well.  

SF Giant Victory Parade

Leon Kuo

LA280

Oct. 31^st, 2012

SF Giant Victory Parade

            San Francisco professional baseball team “Giant” won the World Series Champion on Oct. 28^th, 2012. It is the Giant’s 2^nd World Series ring in the past 3 years.

            “Our team in the city is ready” Mayor Ed Lee said on Oct.30^th. The police are ready with plans to curtail any rowdiness before it escalates like it did Sunday night after Giant finished a sweep of the Tigers to win the World Series.

            In the early morning today, the street getting packed, hundreds and thousands people coming to downtown San Francisco to celebrity the SF Giant welcome back home parade. The parade will begin at the foot of Market Street at Steuart Street at 11 a.m. then continue westbound on Market Street turning onto McAllister Street to proceed to City Hall and Civic Center Plaza, Mayor Ed Lee will present the entire team with a key to the City and honor he World Series Champions in a civic celebration.

            The Fans who joint the parade all dressed up the Giant shirt or the shirt with orange and black. And some of people mix up the giant shirt and Halloween custom together which is really funny.

             Most of the people in the city were really enjoy the parade event, and some of them actually asked for day off because of the parade, during the parade, everyone were taking photos, cheering to celebrity the Giant become World Series Champion. But some people said, “Even though Mayor Lee told us the city is really, transportation is really for the parade. We don’t think so; the Bart was too crowed to take, there’s traffic jam on the street everywhere, and because the parade is on Market St., the traffic control from 2 block outside the Market St. so basically the downtown have been separated to 2 part. And who’s going to clean up the mess after the parade? Also the smell of marijuana was hard to escape. Couple peoples were exchanging a pipe and puffed away while other fans merrily carried a lit joint. San Francisco police said they would not look the other way if they spotted public drinking, but they do smell it clearly when it comes to pot smoke.

Viva los Giants

Viva los Giants

Written by Karla Valdovinos 
Photography by Jennifer Doersam 

Whether or not you are a fan of the color orange, Wednesday Oct. 31 saw a sea of orange in San Francisco thanks to the Giants who won the World Series on Sunday, Oct. 28.  Viva the Giants!

The Giants parade started at 11:00 a.m., but fans had been waiting since last night celebrating their team’s victory. “ I got here early morning,” said Arturo Gonzalez, a Sacramento Giants fan. “Thank God we made it on time!”  The parade started at Market and Steuart streets, turned on to McAllister Street, and ended at City Hall. As early as 9:00 a.m., crowds were filling the empty space next to the police gates. Academy of Art student and Giants’ fan Zayanya de Alwis said on Facebook.:“San Francisco Giants thank you for the most amazing season!!”

During the parade, fans could be seen on rooftops, and sitting on windowsills. In the spirit of Halloween, there were dressed up people walking down crowded Market street. One of my favorites was a man dressed as the Mad Hatter from the Tim Burton movie version, who was more than happy to taken a photo with anyone who asked him. It started to rain white and orange paper confetti, as the parade continued. Giants’ fans found any way to get a closer look at the parade -- people were on top of people, mailboxes became seats, and bus rooftop stops became standing areas. Cheering filled the air to the point you couldn’t hear the person next to you. After the parade, the fans made their way to City Hall to the ending ceremony with the Giants team.  Everyone danced to Psy’s Gangnam style as they waited for the ceremony. What a perfect way to enjoy the wait for the Giants! How did you celebrate the victory of the Giants?