Anybody with a lick of fashion sense could have predicted last spring that the San Francisco Giants would be in the World Series. Let's face it: the G-men wear black and orange, and what colors could be better suited for Halloween? And you can pretty well expect that we will see the sudden appearance of costumed trick-or-treaters wearing coarse black hairs on their chinny-chin-chins, inspired by San Francisco closer Brian Wilson's postseason facial hair and chants of fear-the-beard.
Of course, we are also closing in on that other scary autumnal event �" Election Day �" and not one to miss an opportunity for another nickel's worth of exposure our very own mayor, lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom, has declared this to be "San Francisco Giants Pride Week."
The Giants flag is hoisted over City Hall, and buildings such as Coit Tower, City Hall, and San Francisco International Airport are illuminated in Giants' orange. During performances at War Memorial Opera House, Giants playoff scores have been delivered to raucous applause on the supertitle screens.
"The whole city is rallying in enthusiastic support of the San Francisco Giants as they take on the Texas Rangers," Newsom said in a statement. "I encourage every fan and every local business to show support for the orange and black any way they can throughout the World Series. Let's show the world San Francisco is a true baseball town and help boost this remarkable team to a World Championship."
Fashion aside, it was a tough, blue-collar approach to the game that landed the Giants in this World Series. In a season of epic games decided by one run, Game 6 of the National League Championship Series will go down in Giants history as one of the franchise's finest moments. Within the span of one inning, starter Jonathan Sanchez first began the pivotal two-run "outburst" that allowed San Francisco to tie the game against Philadelphia, then imploded with a loss of control, both in his pitches and his temper, and was picked up by seven shutout innings from the bottomless pitching reserve with which the Giants ended the season.
So as I said a few weeks back, enjoy the improbable tortuous moment, however long it lasts and however it may end. This looks to be the beginning of a return to greatness.
Barry who?
Gay papers' publishers wager on Series
That was quick. No sooner had the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers clinched spots in the World Series than publishers of the Bay Area Reporter and the Dallas Voice entered into a friendly wager.
B.A.R. publisher Thomas E. Horn and his counterpart at the Voice , Robert Moore, have agreed that the publisher in the city of the losing team will wear the winning team's gear in a photo to be published in the winner's newspaper. The losing publisher will also give a personal contribution of $1,000 to the winner's gay charity of choice in the winner's city.
The bet is similar to one made between Horn and Mark Segal, publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News on the outcome of the National League Championship Series. Segal, ever the man to honor a wager, sent us the above photo Tuesday. The $1,000 will go to the GLBT Historical Society, Horn said.
Go Giants!