Golden State Warriors NBA Championship Parade

I will preface this post by saying that I'm a spoiled sports fan who roots for all Bay Area professional sports teams. Growing up, I was lucky enough to see Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, and the San Francisco 49ers win multiple Super Bowls. I'll never forget the Battle of the Bay World Series of 1989, which I was preparing to watch on TV when the Loma Prieta earthquake happened. In college, I got to see Cal go to numerous bowl games and beat Stanford in the Big Game every single year I was a student. Between 2010 and 2014, I witnessed the magic of three successful World Series runs by the San Francisco Giants. Now, after 40 long years, it's time for the Golden State Warriors to have their moment! Yes, my friends who live in other states hate me, but I tell them I pay for it with Bay Area housing prices!

While the Golden State Warriors play in Oakland (and moving to San Francisco in 3 years), what sets them apart is that they are the entire Bay Area's basketball team. Unlike previous championship series with the Giants (as I work with diehard A's fans) and 49ers, everyone around me was unanimous in their support of the one local basketball team. In fact, when the Warrior finally clinched the championship last Tuesday, Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose all erupted into celebration (with no riots or property damage in the Oakland area - take that, national media)!

In all honesty, I wasn't planning on attending the championship parade. While I've been following the Warriors since the days of Run TMC, Spree for Three, Chris Weber, Chris Gatling (who I ran into at the grocery store as a kid), etc., I'll readily admit that once high school started I didn't pay much attention to professional sports until I finished my masters program and fell in love with baseball again. Also, I didn't want to put my coworkers through the same scheduling "musical chairs" I pulled to get time off for the 2014 Giants World Series Parade. Fortunately, I had a scheduled day off, along with the rest of my family. Parade day for everyone!

While this parade incorporated components from other World Championship parades (i.e. double decker buses for better viewing, political dignitaries, cable cars, confetti galore, etc.), there were elements that I could only describe as "Oakland". Here are some pictures from a fun day!

Blue and Gold banners lining the parade route

Oakland's mayor and MC Hammer riding a fire shooting snail!

Politicians riding "The Janky Barge"

Double decker buses so everyone can see them! Draymond Green did get off his bus and interact with the crowd, including high fiving my dad!

Oakland had some pretty unique and quirky floats during this parade. Here's another one!

Obligatory SF cable cars on wheels

MVP Bus!

Steph and trophy!

Can't forget about public transport!

BART train!

Lunch in Oakland's Chinatown! I'm sure this parade was great for local businesses!

Given Oakland's reputation in the national eye these days, there was probably nothing better for the city, their economy, and its people than a spirited celebration on a beautiful day! Bravo, Oakland! I couldn't be prouder of my birth city!

San Francisco Giants in the World Series: So Much Love in the City!

I've already touched on the World Series on Cheap Social Worker (don't forget to get your free tacos), but after last night I felt the need to expand on it on this blog! My apologies to Detroit Tigers fans!

Yesterday, I decided to take a trip to AT&T Park. Being the cheap social worker that I am, I didn't have $500 to spare for World Series tickets. I also didn't wake up early enough to camp out for a spot at the right field keyhole. Instead, I figured I would walk around, get a shirt, get some food, take in the sights, and find a TV to watch the game. Boy, was it an experience!

Outside the park was a party in itself. Mobs of people were congregated behind makeshift sportscaster sets in an attempt to get on TV. Radio stations were handing out free signs. Various companies were handing out free lanyards, black and orange beads, and coupons. Artists and other vendors were milling around trying to sell Giants gear.

The crowds thinned out a little by game time, but you didn't have to be inside the park it take in the World Series experience. Following the National Anthem, four fighter planes flew directly over my head. While I wasn't able to get into the right field keyhole, I got to see some of the action from the gates leading into it. The vacated sportscaster sets all had televisions tuned into the game, with crowds of people watching and cheering on the Giants. The only issue was that the broadcast was roughly 15 seconds delayed from what was happening inside the stadium, so every time a roar erupted everyone outside would pull out their phones or run to the nearest television.

The magic didn't end with the game. As I was walking home with my Giants shirt and hat, I was stopped my numerous people from all walks of life asking about the score. It was nice giving people something to smile about for a change.

Professional sports tends to get a bad rap these days. However, no one can argue value of sports in uniting a community. I've lost track of the number of strangers I've high-fived these past few days. The shared euphoria that comes with watching your city's team succeed definitely transcends political, cultural, and linguistic differences. I know it's temporary and will screech to a halt if things don't go well for Giants.  Let's not forget that elections are in less than two weeks, which will likely bring about divisiveness all over again.  Hence, I'm enjoying this sense of community and love while it lasts!

Here are a few pictures from my day in San Francisco.  GO GIANTS!!!