Hallowe'en coincided with the 4th game of the Baseball World Series in which the San Francisco Giants were taking on the Texas Rangers and at that point leading 2-1. You could tell some people's hearts weren't quite in the trick or treating and would have rather been at home watching the game (which SF won). The following night, the Giants made San Franciscans ecstatically happy by winning the 5th game and therefore the Series. They pretty much trounced Texas who were favourites at the start. And they did it with a motley crew of players who are distinctly characterful. The catchphrase of the series was "Fear the Beard" after one pitcher's striking black beard - which is now seen all over the city on other people's chins.
So the second big celebration of the week was on Monday night when the Giants won the Series, far away in Texas. The noise at that moment was immense. The whole of SF was whooping and as we have a top floor flat overlooking whole swathes of south-east SF we could hear a lot of it. Things got a bit out of hand down in the Mission - rumours were flying that a bank was looted and a bus set on fire. Two days later, over a million people (that's more than the total population of the city itself) converged on the downtown area for the parade. I didn't go.
But did I get into it? Well sort of. It was hard given that I (a) don't have television (b) don't understand the game very well and (c) am not exactly a big sport fan at the best of times. But it was hard to escape the city's buoyant mood and it became infectious, so I will admit to having followed the games as best I could online and being pleased when they won. It was after all the first time the Giants had won since they moved to San Francisco in the 1950s (see, I've even checked on historical stats...). I may even go to a game or two next season.
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