2010 Giants Victory Parade

Ok I know this review is HELLA (what’s more appropriate than Bay Area slang) LATE but in honor of the recent World Series win by the SF GIANTS AGAIN and I wasn’t able to go to the 2012 parade, let’s reminisce about the past and when I did go.
Anyhow… History in the making! This was a crazy day not only for SF folks, but for the entire Bay Area. At 8am you could already see many yellow cabs and increased traffic due to extra people driving into the city, you could hear all the havoc on the radio about the 100+ people in line at the ticket machines trying to ride CalTrain/​BART (to the point where they just said forget it, free rides for everyone!), the crowded muni, increased foot traffic, enough to make a person go crazy. To be honest, I wanted them to shut down the bridges and tell everyone heading to the city, «If you aint already here, then you aint gettin in!» since it was so crowded and I’m anti-​outsider but that’s just me.
Unless you camped early, you couldn’t really see much but who cares, at least you can say you were one of those little black or orange dots scattered on the ground when they showed coverage of the entire parade on the news.
I could smell the pride and victory in the air (no wait, that was the smell of Prop 19) but everyone was just proud to be a part of this monumental moment in SF Giants History. Yes it was crazy, buses couldn’t even get through, people were illegally parked and partying on the street. people standing on buses and port-​potties so they could see. It was like a crowded club without music, a block party without food, and the first time the Giants won the World Series in how long!!! You were just happy it happened and happy to be there.
FUN!

Why am I reviewing this over a month late? Who cares.
Epic. Amazing. Lets do it again next year.

Although not a sports fan of any kind, I knew this was too good to miss so made my way to the start of the parade, only a few blocks from the tiny apartment. Had a great view at Washington and Montgomery, right underneath the Transamerica Tower. Nice people, nice crowd, except for those who managed to be in the street, with the parade, and got in the way of the those trying to take pictures. Who were those people?

All I can say is SF on steroid. It was history in the making. Definitely a once in a lifetime event. If you missed it, too bad!!!
Giants are awesome! Who else can convince the city to close down the entire downtown area just to celebrate their victory!
I had a blast walking down Market st without any cars.
I wish it was better organized with better direction and better audio. Had a hard time hearing the speakers. The traffic was really bad and had an extremely hard time getting home. But I can’t complain too much!!!
GO GIANTS!!!

First off I have to say that i was utterly unprepared for the madness that was the SF Giants parade.
5 stars is for what the parade represented: an amazing team, world series champs 2010 and the essence of SF and all of California.
a negative million stars for the awful organization on my part and the organizer’s part. I have never thought I was going to die being trampled on until I was jammed left and right being pushed as hard as a grown man can push into the back of an 80 year old woman screaming she is having a heart attack in Spanish. YES. that is the parade from the eyes of a short, Asian girl in the middle of a soon to be riot.
There were not enough cops patrolling the area I was in. Cars were being trashed, people were falling from lamp posts and trees, fire trucks were being climbed on and a single ambulance was trying to get through the crowd to (i think) the lady that I left behind screaming.
I hit in the corner of a ross store trying to avoid the massive amounts of people running away from the mini riots breaking out. Cops were screaming trying to push their way through, while the firemen were yelling from the top of their trucks to the people climbing the ladders in the back.
I left San Jose at 9am. It took 2 hours via cal train which was jammed packed. I watched eagerly from afar after the close contact that I called «death» that was paired with an anxiety attack in the middle of the crowd. I didn’t get to see any of the parade BUT I would do it all again.
I’d just go earlier.

If I could rate this parade with 56 stars I would, ’cause that’s how long the City has been waiting for it to happen. My most memorable moments could be summarizing by the following:
* Being blinded by the illuminescence of the Commisioner’s Trophy, as well as the sea of orange that took over the City.
* B-Weezy’s declined acceptance of entering politics, despite Lt. Governor-​elect Gavin Newsom’s tacit endorsement to being replaced by him as mayor. Instead, Wilson expressed, «The Machine might want to do it.»
* How ’bout the simple fact that Schwarzenegger — who was present –acknowledged The Machine. lol!
* B-Weezy’s reasoning for how electric the crowd was; he said, «…maybe it is the smell of Prop 19.»
* Homemade signs reading everything such as: «My life is now complete,» «Tim smoked and we still won,» «Marry me (fill in the blank), «TUCK FEXAS,» «World Champs… FACT,» and of course «FEARD THE BEARD.»
* Speaking of Ahnold, listening to the poor guy get booed multiple times by a crowd of unhappy progressives.
* Chants of «Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Reeee Baaaaaaay,» «Let Tim smoke,» «Beat LA,» and my personal favorite «Heyyyyyyyyyyy we want some Po-​Seyyy!!!» (see 2 Live Crew)
* Seeing people, of all ages, genders, colors, and backgrounds, posted on top of every balcony, fire-​escape, rooftop, flagpost, lightpost, streetlight, barracade, generator, garage overhang, and port-​a-​pottie, just to get glimpse of a bunch of self-​proclaimed «cast-​offs» and «misfits» bask in the glory of being World Champions.

I’ve been a man of very few words lately just enjoying the fascinating ride of the San Francisco Giants as they captured their first World Series crown since moving west, so I’ll just let my photos do the talking at this fabulous event which ended an unforgettable week.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Thank You Giants!!!

It.
Was.
Disneyland.
Crowds of people from downtown to City Hall, over a million in total. We stood barrier-​side at the corner of California and Montgomery, close enough to talk to cops and high-​five players. Every participant in the parade pointed up in awe at the massive crowd stretching up the hill. Under the tall skyscrapers glowing in the morning sun, it was wondrous. It was effing magical.

FINALLY! We’ve been waiting for this moment, and now, the torture is over!
Today, the streets of San Francisco were filled with a million fans bleeding orange and black, cheering and chanting «Lets Go Giants.» There was definitely a magic in the air that no one had ever felt before in the city’s history. The warmth of the Indian Summer sun beat down on us as we watched our incredible 2010 World Series Champion Giants ride through the confetti covered streets.
Thanks for bringing the entire bay area together to celebrate in your victory! EPIC in every way.

This was the finest outdoor event I have ever attended, ever.
Proud day to be a San Franciscan and to honor the city’s heros:
1. I have to start with the city, 10 stars for being able to pull this event off. Logistical challenge and crowd control. It would take an army of personnel to pull this off and it was perfection.
2. SFPD did an excellent job with controlling the crowd. Each officer was helpful keeping large crowds under control and in more than a few instances, keeping them safe.
3. SF Giants Staff. Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing whatever it is that you do to provide the club with the means to help organize and produce this event.
4. SF Giants. From my vantage point it was flawless and the best way to wrap up my favorite season of this game. I like that most of you gave eye contact to as many of the public as you could. Perfection.

Hooray for the Giants! truth be told i didn’t watch a single minute of the game. haven’t watched tv in years. never bought a converter. that explains it.
Saw Arnold the governator on the tv mugging for the press at this parade. guess he solved all the problems in sacramento. oh, he didn’t?
guess it more important to get free publicity rather than get any real work done. (OBAMA! you taking notes?)

I loved the parade. Not only the parade but afterwards hanging out with all the Giants fans walking around SF. It really was a Giants day and fans from all over just took over downtown, making for a very… AWESOME atmosphere.
Free caltrain ride over was also a bonus! I just wished I was at an above-​ground location!
Once again, congrats to the Giants and to the entire bay area for coming together in spectacular fashion! Hopefully we’ll see the same next season!

Checklist before busting out of the office Wed morning:
— Vague out of office message: «I’ll be out of the office returning later this afternoon. All messages will be returned then. Thank you…»
— Leave boss a message: «Giants parade BBL… «
— Camera
— Extra camera batteries
— Phone
— Anything orange
— Party Face
Coworkers and I decided to head further down market since the crowd started gathering like a mass of fire ants crawling over dead carcass (the amount of people gathered was GNARLY) at Montgomery and Washington (?) Muni buses were running late so we decided to walk… we ended up walking all the way to 6^th and Market. We parked ourselves in a decent location and patiently waited 2 hours for the parade to reach us.
— My knees are permanently locked
— Feet are still sore from standing
— Throat is coarse from shouting
— A little delirious from no food or water since I was in a rush to get out
— Drained both my camera batteries and my phone!
A surreal moment… a historic event… an unbelievable experience… and an epic homecoming fit for Champions. Go Giants :) :) :)

ABSA-​FRICKIN-​RIDIC-​LOUS!!! But worth all the pain and inconvenience!
— Waking up at 3am to get ready and take Caltrain/​Bart to Civic Center = clipper card $$ and lack of real beauty sleep.
— Arriving while it’s still dark and still spaces to grab a stellar location and view of the screen = awesome and beyond gorgeous
— Standing for 8 hours straight to see the good olé boys get the credit and applause they deserve = painful, but frequent running in place and squats helped.
— Having my back against a flag pole throughout the 8-​hour stint = incredibly helpful in avoiding the constant swaying movement of the crowd… also helped with the claustrophobic moments being right at the railing — if i pass out, someone can throw me over the railing to the medics.
— Being in the heat, being bombarded with the smell of prob 19, having to use the rally towels to shield my face from the sun, dealing with all the annoying «scuseee meee“‘s of people trying to squeeze to the front where we have been camped since before 7am = incredibly annoying.
— Being embarrassed for the terminator… it’s hard to hear someone BOO’d that badly, i don’t care who ya are… i was cringing for him!
Bottom line — it was terribly frustrating throughout the day being squished like a sardine, but the energy, the vibes and seeing Huff Daddy so the Zoolander bit with the red rally thong made every minute beyond worth it!
Let’s do it again next year! GO GIANTS!!! woot woot!
PS… Can I get a hell-​ya for Newsom declaring November 3^rd annual SF Giants Day?! what?! what?!! EFF-​YA!!! I’m requesting the day off now for next year! ;)

In short, amazing. My heart welled with pride as the Giants rode their cable cars into Civic Center to the tune of Journey’s «Don’t Stop Believin», as the entire crowd of 100,000+ sang along. It’s a moment I’ll never forget. Well worth standing 4 hours like a canned sardine just to witness it.
The immense pride I felt, especially being born in SF and living here my whole life, was seeing my city getting their time in the sun. We stand by our teams when times are hard, but we also come together like no other during times of celebration. I can only imagine what it was like for them, seeing the hundreds of thousands of smiling faces welcome them to their city, as champions.
My heart was on such a high that I was able to forgive the crowd for being suck jerks — pushing, shoving, getting drunk… purposely not making room for others to pass by. I can only hope that you were all out-​of-​town bandwagoners.
Security, you also sucked. Some guy passed out in the crowd and you moved at a snail’s pace to do anything about it. He could have died, dude. It’s a good thing he was just drunk, and not heat-​stricken.
Thankfully, the joy of the day outweighed any negativity from the crowd. I can’t wait to watch the re-​broadcast on TV this Saturday so I can see all the parts I missed.

For one amazing day in November we were all orange and black.
Say hey!
San Francisco is an amazing city.
The Giants are an amazing baseball club.
We had waited 50+ years for this parade.
It rained black, orange and white confetti.
I do not know if I will ever be able to experience anything like it again.
I wish I could give it 6 stars.
Thank you San Francisco, and thank you to our San Francisco Giants.
:0)

A Giants fan from L.A. We headed up at 12am and got to SF at 530am. Showered and got to City Hall at 7am. Yeah…7am with the other fans that were already camped out there. 700−230pm…for the 2010 W.S.Champs! Well worth the quick turn-​around drive and one-​way flight back from Oakland to Burbank on SWA.
For the most part… we made some new friends around us. BUT as the day went by. we had these fools that kept trying to get through and walk ahead of us and stand in front of us. SORRY… keep on moving, we were here since 7am.
Our views of the players and buses weren’t too bad and luckily I had my Canon 70−200mm lens!
SF GIANTS…2010 champs!!! And we were there… SF GIANTS FANS from L. A!!!
CON: Couldn’t flag down a cab to get back to the hotel for ages. That area around the City Hall was GHETTO!
Did eat sandwiches at Lee’s. Bring SUNBLOCK and lots of WATER, SNACKS and chairs for the next parade!!!

What better way to honor the World Series Champions than with a parade! Being that Giants baseball is such a huge part of my life and upbringing, I took the day off to celebrate. So did everyone else there. The news reported that morning that a couple hundred thousand people were expected to attend. At the event, they estimated over a million showed up. It was a sea of Orange and Black, everyone trying to get in closer to see their favorite player.
I have great sense of pride in our city and players that people thought were not going to make it. We have come close, but not close enough to be the World Series Champions. It was such an incredible feeling of accomplishment.
I didn’t even mind the heat, being pushed and pressed up on by hundreds of people. I was there to see the parade, hear my favorite players and cheer along with Giants fans.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010 — San Francisco Giants World Series Victory Parade
Two days after clinching the 2010 World Series title and bringing home our first title in San Francisco history, Giants fans from all around came together to celebrate this monumental occasion with a much deserved victory parade. A parade led down the same route the Giants took in 1958 when they came to San Francisco. How fitting is that?
The excitement and electricity in the air on this glorious day was intoxicating and put you on a natural high. The weather could not have been more perfect for the 1.5 million San Francisco Giants fans in attendance — it was an amazing and unforgettable experience for all.
The constant chants of «Let’s go Giants» and «Ooooo-​ribe» were heard throughout the entire day and the sounds were deafening. The constant flow of confetti in the air made it all surreal and I was so happy I could be part of this.
No matter how many titles we are able to claim in the future, I doubt none can compare to this extraordinary day. The torture is over for the season — we deserved this!

–1 star for hour it took to get to Civic Center Bart (typical trip= 16min).
–1 star for the 22 min it took to get bike up the stairs thru throng of people.
–1 star for having no view :-(
(Although we could just make out the names on top of the trolleys)
–1 star for $ 5 bottles of water, no booze, and no bathrooms.
–1 star for the sardine can Bart train ride home.
+10 stars for getting to watch boyfriend (and hometown of SF) watch the parade and how happy it made him (them).