International Giants Week

I don't know if you heard, but SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 2010 WORLD CHAMPIONS

I still can't believe we got past the Padres!!

It's incredible how this championship changes our mindset as Giants fans, and maybe even as people.

For instance....

It's Monday night. The Giants are champions. I'm watching tv like everyone else when the news flashes across the screen that the Giants victory parade will be Wednesday at 11am and will follow the route taken by the Giants when they arrived in San Francisco in 1958. My first reaction is that I want to go.

My second reaction is....wait. Somebody planned this parade before the Giants won the world series. SOMEBODY PLANNED THIS FREAKIN PARADE BEFORE THE WORLD SERIES WAS OVER.

I'm going to kill this person. I'm serious. I'm not joking. Somebody better hold me back, because I'm going to find this person and I'm going to get myself sent to Pelican Bay. How dare this person do that? How dare they! I'm going to stab them with an icepick, I'm not even joking.

But then it hit me. We won. It doesn't matter. It will never matter again.

Ha. Whew. Anyone need an icepick?

The parade was fun, and HUGE. My favorite part was the sense I got that the Giants players were truly overwhelmed by how big it was. And it makes sense, in part because they managed to clinch all 3 series' on the road. Jerks. Their celebrations were limited to a visiting clubhouse. Now they were partying with 1 million people and the depth of their accomplishment sunk in.

My second favorite part was Aubrey Huff yanking the rally thong out of this pants a la Zoolander.

My third favorite part was the entire crowd at civic center singing Don't Stop Believing, although they should have used the Giants version: "I had faith...and I had hope....and thankfully the Padres choked!"

Anyway, Gavin declared Nov 3 to be "Giants Day" in the city.

Buster Posey said "let's savor this for a month, and then get back to work and do it again" and then pounded the podium and walked off to huge cheers.

So the "Various Numbers of Days of Magic" blog is officially following suit.

This week (through next Monday), we will celebrate "International Giants Week" with its official seal below:

After which we will dive into the Giants offseason, which should be fun and much less angstful than before.

So celebrate, San Francisco. We did it. We finally, finally, finally didn't blow it.

1 Magical Year: The Giants Are Champions Of The World

2010 San Francisco Giants: WORLD CHAMPIONS

Marmol!!!!

How do you start writing this email? What begins it?

1989? 1993? 1997? 2000? 2001? 2002? 2003? 2004?

1962?

ESPN did a great job of correctly pointing out that this was not the first championship in 56 years for "The Giants". This was San Francisco's first world series championship EVER. The curse is over. The Rally Monkey is dead. The most incredible team of weirdos and creative peronalities and has-beens and bearded relievers has shocked everyone, including their own fans, and won the World Series.

I don't know if this makes sense to non-Giants fans, but I truly did not believe I would ever see the Giants win a world series. And I'm pretty young. So last night, when Brian Wilson struck out Nelson Cruz, an entire paradigm in my life shifted. Sports stopped being a source of pain that I stupidly kept turning to for entertainment and started being an inspirational source of excitement that has brought me closer to a lot of people in my life who fell in love with this team the way I did.

But this email will not be gushy. This email will be celebratory.

Ahem.

Unbelievable.

The season started with Tim Lincecum winning and Brian Wilson closing, and it ended that way.

We started the season by beating Roy Oswalt, and ended it by beating Cliff Lee.

At the half-way mark, we were 41-40. We finished 51-30, and then went 11-4 in the playoffs, incluing a 6-2 mark on the road.

We beat Cliff Lee twice, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt twice, Cole Hamels, Derek Lowe twice, Tim Hudson, and CJ Wilson. And Joe Blanton. WE BEAT JOE BLANTON.

I cannot write this email any better than by relaying the text messages I got last night, which began around the 7th inning:

"Dude, I'm trying not to get ahead of myself but I'm about to lose my mind."

"Oh."

"My."

"GOD!!!!!!" (Renteria)

"F$%^ Yeah! Sit down, Bengie!"

"I can't take this."

"3 more outs OMG"

"You could always watch Monday Night Football. Hey if they win will you root for the Bills this year....to win a game?!"

"MARMOL! CONGRATULATIONS!!"

"I will never forget this moment."

"Too much. Congrats, dude. Much love."

"Scott Speizi-who?"

"The hippies just (CENSORED) George Bush. This is a great day."

"Walking home - Irving St is shut down mobbed with people celebrating...I got sprayed with beer."

"What should we buy your great uncle Frank for Hannukah?"

Wait, that last one wasn't supposed to be in there.

Brian Wilson, interviewed after the game, said that he thought Renteria should be the series MVP. When told that he WAS the series MVP, Wilson responded "look at that, I'm an oracle."

You're an oracle. You're a (weird) prophet. You finished the division clinching win, the NLDS clinching win, the NLCS clinching win, and the World Series clinching win. I love you, Brian Wilson.

I can't write any more because I"m too jumbled and I have to go back to work since I'm taking tomorrow off to go to the parade.

I'll finish with one last text, sent by me.

My friend Julia, who is only 13, is probably the biggest Giants fan I know. Last night she texted me and said "my mom might let me go to the parade."

And I replied:

"I'm going to the parade. You're going to the parade. The Giants are champions of the world."

A Brian Wilson Quote for The Game Tonight

"I don't know what you're talking about," Wilson said when asked (if he puts shoe polish on his beard). "It's dark because we play a lot of day games. It's tanned. It's focused."

56 Days of Magic: Wherein Andy Beats KNBR With a Large Stick

Giants 3, Rangers 1

I woke up this morning feeling good. Madison Bumgarner had made the Texas offense look silly. Buster Posey and Aubrey Huff had hit long-overdue homeruns. None of my dogs had peed on my baby.

And then I turn on the radio, and the subject matter of the morning show was "should we root for the Giants to lose Game 5 so they can clinch at home?"

Are you freaking kidding me?

Hold still, KNBR. Stand right there. Now don't move. Ok, now who has a large stick?

Yesterday's game was low on the torture-meter, as was game 1 and game 2. All of which serves to lower our defenses, lull us into a false sense of security, and then........BAM.

Computer simulations probably give us a 90% shot of winning the world sereis at the stage. But it was a 98% chance in the 7th inning of Game 6 of the 2002 World series. This is not over. Do I really have to explain that to anybody with a pulse? Come on. It's the Giants. You think we're going to just run away with this thing?

Sigh.

Yesterday started off badly. First it was Puff Daddy, then Lyle Lovett, then Dubya throwing out the first pitch and not giving me any room to make fun of him because, damnit, he has a good arm. Then the Giants got a runner on 2nd with nobody out and couldn't score him and then Bumgarner walked the first guy on 4 pitches, 2 of which were right down the middle.

Well, then something funny happened...Bumgarner became super duper really super hugely good at pitching. The Rangers got one guy to 2nd base the entire game and by the time it was over, Laura Bush was yawning and Barbara Bush was knitting. I don't know WHAT that little Ron Washington midget kid was doing, but somebody really needs to call CPS.

So now here we are. 1 win away. More than anything, i'm struck by how unreal it feels. The Giants winning the world series? Huh?

I told some friends that today could be the 3rd best day of my life:

1. Wedding

2. Birth of child

3. Today??

4. First time I ever watched olympic curling on television

But then I remembered that day Collin threw a complete game shutout, which pushes Rachel back to #3. So really this will only be the 4th best day in the last 27 years which isn't that big a deal

(Psssst. Here's the secret real list

1. Today??

2. Complete game shutout

3. Curling

4. Birth of Rachel

5. The Play. I was negative 10 days old but if you believe that life begins at coneception than I was 8 monts old plus change...The band is on the field! The band is on the field!

6. Wedding

Dont' tell Jamie!)

Giants. Look at me, please.

You've got a lot going on.

At least 5 people in the Northeast were watching you on television last night. You've got more sucky ex-presidents in attendance than have been together in the same room at the same time since the last time Bush and Clinton filmed a commercial after some natural disaster in Bangladesh. Cliff Lee is pitching. They're going to put champagne on ice in your clubhouse and everytime Renteria goes down there between innings to drink unicorn blood to hide the fact that he's 567 years old, he's going to see it.

Bieber might show up.

So many distractions.

Hey, stop looking at Bieber.

Look at me.

Giants. Pay attention.

I need to tell you something.

Are you listening? Ok, you're ready? Ok.

ONE MORE WIN.