Take Me Out to the Ballgame (on the Bay, of Course!)
To be a true San Franciscan, you must be a fan (at least in part) of the Giants. Now I’m not going to pretend that I’m that into watching baseball on TV – I mean, come on… it’s about 10 minutes of actual play time, and the rest is just watching what I like to call “fat athletes” – think golfers (yeah, you know what I mean) – stand around looking intense and only slightly interested in the game at hand. However, when I go to AT&T Park on the Embarcadero in San Francisco, the game takes on a whole new feel. You walk up to the stadium, which is located in the SOMA district of the City, and the huge brick structure of the stadium feels reminiscent of a time when baseball truly was America’s favorite pastime. It’s extremely beautiful, and very welcoming in a way. Right on the water, it’s easy to see the ocean from your seats, which adds a very luxurious and unique feel to the game. Being such a new stadium – it opened to the public in 2000 – everything has that shiny and fresh feel, which is always fun. A night at AT&T Park is the perfect event for almost anything. You can go on a date (makes the men happy as clams when you make sporting events dates, don’t ya’ know), work get-togethers, or family outings. You can get extremely cheap tickets in the bleachers, which aren’t even bad seats. In fact, that’s where the home run balls head most of the time. Definitely makes for an enjoyable night.
I went to the park for their game against the Marlins recently (we won!), and it was such a perfect night at the ballpark. Being on
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the water, it can get chilly, so the food vendors have wised up and started selling things in the crowd like hot chocolate and warm cookies. Not what you think of normally for a baseball game, but this is San Francisco, after all – it’s all about being comfortable and contemporary. Of course all of the regular options are available, so we decided to go with the old stand-bys – hot dogs, peanuts, beer, and kettle corn. Delicious! It’s pricey of course, but well worth it while enjoying the game. Everything comes in large portions, so it’s best for your wallet and your waistline if you share. The group I was with – my honey’s work colleagues – was super fun. One of his co-workers visiting from India hadn’t ever seen a game before. What a fun treat to be at his first game! He was explained the rules, and from that point on was glued to the diamond’s action. It’s fun when you see someone light up from a baseball game – it’s truly an enjoyable American sport where the ambiance and thrill of the stadium, food, and crowd takes you away for awhile. It certainly gives me motivation to watch sports.
A definite must, hit up a summer game, as not only is it a San Francisco tradition, it’s also a blast for everyone involved. The long summer nights make for a really fun way to spend not only a weekday evening, but a weekends night, as well, as most people go out afterwards in the area making the scene both casual and rowdy (especially after a win!). With this type of experience at the game, you really might not care if you ever get back. Enjoy!
Peace and love Xo
