The West Coast is the place I call home these days. I've been in the Bay Area of California for nearly three years now and I don't ever see myself going back east anytime soon; I may be a Californian for the duration. But being a transplanted New Yorker has given me the ability to compare and contrast the two sports scenes. I used to just have a New York vs. Philly or Pittsburgh sample space, but now I have the whole Bay Area; seven pro teams and a bunch of college teams to add to the lexicon of "Fandoms" I 've had the pleasure of seeing and hearing in person. Pittsburgh and Philly are different cities than NYC in many ways, but they still have an East Coast feel. But being on the West Coast for three years; I feel I've seen and heard enough now to really sink my teeth into the vibe here. See, I love the Bay Area for many reasons; the weather, the people, and the general sense of "chill" I get here every day. What I don't love is the sports talk radio in the Bay Area. Until recently, when Brandon Tierney showed up on our new FM sports talker here in San Fran (another transplanted New Yorker), I'd only liked two of the sports talk personalities here; Damon Bruce (afternoons on KNBR 1050 in San Fran) and Jon Miller (legendary SF Giants play by play guy). That's it. The majority of these guys are just boring and tries too hard to be funny or edgy. Stop it you're neither, just talk sports. I enjoy edge when it's done right. Check out Tony Bruno or even Colin Cowherd at times are edgy hosts, or if you can find some old "Riot!" recordings, that's some edge there. But "the Razor and Mr.T" are just an ex ball player who thinks he's funny and all-knowing and a marble mouth who only still has a job because he's been around here forever. "Murph and Mac" sound like a frat party gone terribly wrong and don't get me started on Gary Radnich; I have no idea why that dude has such a popular show (sorry Damon Bruce had to be paired with him for a month. Nightmare). Now I'm sure these guys are all great guys, and I'm not going to dwell on how badly their shows suck because I have another axe to grind, I'm just laying ground work here.
So these local radio hosts here in the Bay Area, including good ones like Damon Bruce, have whined over and over again about this East Coast Bias thing. Apparently people here on the West Coast have a severe inferiority complex and complain that they can't ever get the headlines on ESPN, the New York Times or USA Today. They've complained constantly about how Fox Sports Radio and ESPN Radio NEVER talk about their teams here in the Bay Area. They claimed that it took the Giants to win the World Series to get even a little attention. This sounds like a little brother whining that mom doesn't pay enough attention to them. Now I have to say that when I first moved here I saw their point. The coverage of the West Coast sports teams is a little light at times, and it is very New York, Boston and Philly heavy. I mean SportsCenter moved a show to LA supposedly (I think they just move to a different studio in Bristol) and it's still leading with the Yankees; it's a sham, but there are reasons for this.
First off, the east coast has dominated most of the sports over the past 10 years. Other than the Lakers in the NBA, the East Coast has been very dominant in all of the pro sports. Over the past 10 years only three teams have won the World Series west of the arches, and one underneath them. Over the past 10 years only two teams have won the Stanley Cup from the west. Over the past 10 years ZERO teams have won the Super Bowl from the west (the last was the Denver Broncos in '99). So the West Coast is treading on irrelevance to begin with. That's 5 championships out of a possible 15 over the past 10 years in three major sports; not good.
The second reason could be the time difference. Let’s face it; NYC is the media and economic capitol of the world, so when they go to sleep so does the media. With games going on in the West until midnight or later on the East, a lot of that action tends to get lost. I remember when I was a kid and reading the newspaper if the Mets were on the West Coast the score would say "late" next to it. But then in the afternoon edition it would have the score, and a recap. So maybe the info from the West could be reaching the East late. That really shouldn't be as big an issue anymore with the invention of the internet, but it could be a problem.
The real reason, in my ever so humble opinion, is that the West Coast fans (and broadcasters for the most part) are a whiny bunch who are not ready for the primetime. I've heard more whining and crying about the San Francisco Giants not getting love as the defending champs all summer long than I did about actual game play; until about mid-August that is. Because since then, the Giants have embarrassed themselves out of the pennant race and showed themselves to be a flash in the pan, one-shot, whose management robbed the city of San Fran, who is poised for a legendary team, of a chance to rank with the big boys. Bad move after bad move from the off season through the regular season, in the name of loyalty, has cost this great, potentially all-time pitching staff, the chance to adequately defend its title. But that is not even the point of this rant, because it's not MY team, so I have no real stake in how inept the Giants management is; it's the fandom I'm concerned with. You see, the Giant fan has time and time again whined about this east coast bias since the season began when they were the defending champs but weren't picked to win the NL. Instead the media focused on the Phillies, who added MORE guns to an already loaded pitching staff and deserved to be, and still are, the favorites in the NL. I heard it for a month or so on the local airwaves here in the Bay Area, from broadcasters and fans, about how the Giants are the champs and they get no love. Look, I get that a fan is going to defend their team passionately as they should, but this came off as baby crying; it gave me douche chills. And most of the broadcasters here agreed with their whiny fans. Again I understand it's a show and you want to play to your audience, but be legit then. If you are a fan of the Giants, then that's fine, but stop whining and make them show it on the field. The hosts of these shows have to be real, even if you love the Giants you can't blindly support this type of baby crying; it gives a good fandom a bad name. BTW, those predictors of the Phils dominance were right on point, were they not?
Flash forward to May, when the real whining started; the Buster Posey injury. Now I know this story actually had some national legs to it because the Giants whiny GM came out and cried about a rule change at home plate. Of course where the management goes, the fans will follow. Even last week, four months later, I still heard a Giants fan cry out for a rule change at home plate for next season; it's laughable. What's even worse is this fandom has never gotten over the Posey injury. They have blamed their whole season on that injury and that too is very laughable. Posey is great, but Babe Ruth he's not. Hell he's not even Mike Piazza, and I've seen that guy both carry a team and struggle mightily. These pissant crybaby Giant fans I hear on the radio all day wax poetically about the difference Posey would have made if that jerk didn't run him down at the plate. STOP IT! First, you hacks that call the radio shows and whine you are giving your fandom a bad name. Giants fans on the whole are great fans. These whiners have the right to whine, but it’s undeserved and tedious and the fact that the hosts let the crap fly is really what the problem is. Secondly, do you think Posey is that much better than Carlos Beltran? Beltran is hitting .298 with 20 dingers and 80 RBI. Anybody want to tell me what Posey's numbers were last year and his projections for this year? .305, 18 dingers and 67 RBI in 2010, and his projected numbers for this year? Around .290 with 20 homers and 80 RBI. HUH? That looks familiar. Now I know Beltran had a bunch of those numbers when he got here, but the point is that ONE event is not the cause for the Giants downfall this season.
So I believe if you couple this whininess with the next bit, which is the fact that I haven't heard word one about the fact that NOBODY outside of the Bay Area is talking about the Giants anymore. They are an after-thought. They are viewed as just another team who’s not making the postseason, and I think the Giants fans and broadcasters are OK with that. I turn on the radio now and all I hear is "well, next year they need to........" No anger over a lack of respect, or conspiracy theories over East Coast bias and a lack of coverage. The reason why, because you are who we thought you were, Giants; one-hit wonders. And that's ok to me; history has had many of them. Here's the problem I have though, their fans, and more importantly the broadcasters who talk to them, didn't walk around like they deserved something. There was no entitlement. The 2003 Marlin's never had their fans crying about a Northern bias; they leave that to the Civil War buffs. The 2007 Anaheim Ducks fans didn't cry out for attention, they were afraid if they were too loud Mickey would come calling again. No, it's not right.
Giants fans need to understand that they are not the Yankees or the Phillies. Giants fans need to realize that they are what they are, a good team that was great for a month last year and caught lightning in a bottle. Does that mean they can't or won't win again? No, but what it does mean is that you can't demand the type of respect that the "big boy" teams get. Giants fans need to realize that you have what a lot of these "big boy" teams don't have; heroes. The Yankee fan, in large part, has to turn to the Babe and Joe D and "The Mick" to really see some heroes; true blue Yankees. Let's face it; after Jeter and Mariano retire there are no more. By 2013, the Yankees heroes are gone, and there are no new ones to replace them. The Giants have Timmy, and Cain; Wilson and the Panda and new studs like Pill, Bumgarner and Belt coming up; guys who seem to care about this city and this town. I don't know about you, but I don't want to share my heroes with the world, because then the world might take them from you. Look at what happened to Seattle. Back in the 90's they had two first ballot hall of famers on their team entering their prime, but then the east coast came and took them away. This East Coast Bias thing is actually a good thing; it keeps those pirates at bay. Don't think for a second that the Yankees, Phillies and even the Mets and the Red Sox are not salivating over the prospect of taking Timmy or Cain off your hands. And the more Timmy gets love from the East Coast, the more appetizing it looks to him. Stop wasting your energy on fighting for respect outside of here, and pour it into your team and demand better from your management.
The Giants have one of the best Fandoms I've seen thus far. You may not deserve the attention the East Coast teams get, but you do deserve a winner and that starts with you. Stop worrying about what everybody else thinks of you, it will only serve to damage your great franchise. The Giants pull three million fans a year, and are one or two pieces away from being back in the NLCS with the Phils next year, so who cares what Bristol or NYC thinks of you. Stick it to them next year when Timmy and Cain have some power behind them and the Giants go into Citizen’s Bank Park and pound the Phils. That makes me happy on a few levels, beating the Phils is always good, and I’ve actually grown fond of the Giants fandom. Maybe it’s because they are a great group, and they are, but maybe it’s also because my two oldest sons have become a part of that fandom; that carries more weight than anything. I, as a father, would support any fandom my kids support unless it’s Atlanta; I will never give those people credit as fans.
Giants fans, the whining has stopped, and the figuring out what to do next has begun. Maybe this embarrassing end to the champ’s season was the baseball gods telling you to get back in your place and stop worrying about what the east coast thinks. It seems that Giants fans have gotten the message because I haven’t heard word one about an East Coast bias for a month now. Maybe they are saying it in Arizona these days? Who knows, but what I know is that you Giants fans out there have two more weeks as Champs, so go out to the park and show Timmy, Wilson, Panda and Cain that you still love them and celebrate their efforts because they will be back next year. Hopefully Giants management will break open the check book and support those guys, because they need it. But that’s another discussion for another time.
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