Salon.com > World Series

Street parties and small riots follow Giants’ win

Mon, 29 Oct 2012 12:58:00 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Thousands of baseball fans took to the streets of San Francisco to celebrate the Giants World Series victory, with revelers gathering on corners, in parks and at watering holes as car horns blared long into the night.

Fans across the city left their televisions and rushed outside, greeting diners, bar patrons and other merry makers Sunday night after the Giants defeated the Detroit Tigers 4-3 to sweep the Series for their second title in three years.

Small fires broke out in trash cans here and there, but the violence and vandalism appeared to have been kept to a minimum a few hours after the last pitch.

"We're watching out for any major flareups and fires," said police spokesman officer Carlos Manfredi. "We want to maintain public safety at all times, and don't want to put first responders in any danger."

He said police were responding to certain hot spots but had no reports of serious problems. No arrest figures were available.

KGO-TV reported that at least three bonfires flared on Mission Street with fans fueling them with couches, signs, newspaper racks, and other items. Firefighters had to be escorted in by riot police to fight some of the fires.

Please, stop believin’

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 23:30:00 +0000

The Giants and the Tigers should play for something real this World Series. Instead of compete for a big trophy and bigger bragging rights, the two teams should play for Journey: The winner gets to keep “Don’t Stop Believin’” as a stadium singalong, and the loser has to find some other song for its playlist.

Of course, San Francisco would have much more to lose in that wager, since singer Steve Perry is an avowed Giants fan who performed during the Giants run to the 2010 World Series title and even appeared in the team’s victory parade. (Perry's "Lights" is also an AT&T Park favorite.)

For Detroit, however, it’s just one of many rousing numbers in its stadium playlist, albeit one with a shout-out to the Tigers’ hometown: “Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit.” Of couse, there is actually no such place as South Detroit, unless you count Lake Erie or Windsor, Ontario. In that regard, Detroit’s adoption of “Don’t Stop Believin’” seems awfully self-deprecating, as though the team is desperate for any song that mentions the city. (Why not rock to the MC5, the Stooges or pretty much anything from that small, obscure local label called Motown?)