Awesome Weekend

It was the best of weekends; it was the worst of weekends - and all for the exact same reason. Some weeks ago, the hub looked downcast because baseball season was almost over. So, being the understanding wife I am not to mention a rabid fan of the game, especially the Giants, I got us tickets to the last game of the season. Plus, the hub had gotten us some tickets to the Giants' Oktoberfest which was last Wednesday.

The Giants won that game and the next one, and as I was re-watching the good parts on TV on Friday, the announcers got me all whooped up about the fact that my Gigantes could become Western Division champs with one win over the Padres who came to town that very night! Ignoring common sense and budgetary constraints, I jumped right online and scored two (sort of) reasonably priced tickets. They were bleacher seats but who cares! I'd never seen a team win a championship and all pour out on the field jumping and hugging, and I really wanted to. And they were bound to win - Matt Cain was pitching and it was his birthday, for Pete's sake!

What I hadn't counted on was that 1. Matt Cain (he of the adorable ginger curls, sweet expression and powerful arm) had a gnarly bad night and 2. It was Singles Night at the park. Because of number 1, the Giants lost and because of number 2, there were large numbers of skankily dressed young women and horny young men staggering drunkenly around in the bleachers trying to score. I'm not absolutely sure they were going to wait til they left the park. There was a kind of sweaty desperation in the air. Plus, the stadium lights are blinding in the bleachers and you can't really see the ball. Not that any of the drunken singles could focus anyway.

There was also some form of ooze on the floor. At first I thought it was dew or mist in the air that formed on the ground, but there was none on the seats or rails which were made of aluminium just like the floor. After the third tipsy single person did a slip and fall right next to my seat, I began to wish I was a personal injury lawyer. I also got pretty good at catching people by the arm and putting them back on their feet.

When I went to the bathroom, something puzzling yet hilarious happened. I was heading back to my seat when I heard a voice from above me. No it wasn't the Almighty, it was a tall, young (really young) man who slurred " Are you a Giants fan?" Well, I was at a Giants game and I was dressed in as much orange and black as I could cram onto my body, and I had an orange rally rag hanging out of my pocket. I thought "Is this larvae flirting with me?" but I said "Yes." And I kept walking. Then he said "That's my girl!" Girl?! Obviously, he hadn't seen my 55 year old face. I lifted my chin so he could see past the bill of my baseball cap and smiled at him. He grinned back. I high fived him and beat feet out of there. Either his beer goggles are in serious need of adjustment or he is kinky in a way I do not want to know about.

We moped around that night and the next morning. I mean, the Giants only had to win one of three games to win their division and they lost the first one which seemed like a sure thing! That afternoon, during the second game of the series, I sent the hub next door to watch and I read my book. I love my mighty Gigantes, but I can't watch their sad faces when they lose. And lose they did. Ugh!

So we went to the last game of the series and the season yesterday. Got new rally rags and everything. Nobody hit on me, The Giants played wonderfully - Jonathan Sanchez was the winning pitcher and he hit a triple! Buster Posey hit a home run!!! Coolest game ever! The lady I sat next to looked like a nun, but talked like a stevedore. Plus, she was older than me and had a mad crush on Brian Wilson - the 28 year old pitcher not the geezerly Beach Boy. Apparently,there's a lot of that May/December stuff going around at the park... And I got to see the players pour out on the field jumping up and down and hugging when they won. They even took a victory lap around the field and slapped hands with the fans. We were in the second level and, though I was tempted to vault over the rail to the first level, I'm a big fat chicken - and didn't want to get arrested.

Now the Giants are the Western Division Champions. They are so cool. And totally worth all the coronaries I've almost had watching them. They have this habit of going right to the edge of the cliff and then leaning back at the last second. In an ordinary person this would drive me nuts. I would avoid them, and yet I pay to watch the Giants...weird.

Anyway, we're going to the first game of the playoffs on Thursday. I hope they just outright win instead of toying with me - and I'm staying out of the bleachers!