San Jose MLB fanbase?
by ST on Dec 10, 2008 2:49 PM PST
33 comments
As sort of an offshoot of the possible San Jose A's being reintroduced thread, I thought it would be interesting to see what folks think who the majority of the fan base down here root for (i will publish a similar thread at McCovey Cove).
Territorial rights BS aside and having first hand knowledge, I feel that A's fans are a vocal, yet small minority here, especially with the minor league SJ Giants right in the heart of the city. However, I am seeing more and more folks open to the prospect of the A's and their "Moneyball" philosophies since we are the heart of Silicon Valley after all. One of my close colleagues here at work (an avid Giants fan and season-ticket holder nonetheless) has recently entertained the thought of going to A's games with me due primarily to 1) The Bondless futility of the team (and the whole scandal surrounding it beforehand), 2) the Zito-fallout, and 3) the luster of Pac-Bell/SBC/ATT Park wearing off.
So what are your thoughts on San Jose?
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Have been seeing more A's caps around town
Probably used to be more Giants fans, but I would have to say recently it looks to be split down the middle.
"These Boston People Are AWFUL"
by Brillz on Dec 10, 2008 3:21 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
I'm in the west San Jose area...
I feel like I’m surrounded by either Giants fans or baseball haters.
by Kimberly on Dec 10, 2008 3:26 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
is it just me
or does san jose not really seem like part of the bay area? it’s probably just the oaklander in me but I never found any real compelling reason to go down there. is any significant part of bay area culture from the san jose area? I’m not trying to instigate our south bay neighbors, but would honestly like to know why I should think the A’s moving to SJ would be better than to another city (Portland, Vegas, what have you). I think if the move did happen, I’d change my primary allegiance to the Giants. Whatever happened to moving to a new stadium in Oakland? That is definately the optimal solution (albeit has alot of problems with Dellums, Wolf and what have you).
by MaineAthletic on Dec 10, 2008 3:28 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Great Vietnamese Food for one...
I’m from the southern part of the East Bay myself, so San Jose seems a bit closer to me than it probably does to you. I remember it for Great America, the Tech Museum, and the Jazz festival.
I think it’s part of the bay
by eastbayexpat on Dec 10, 2008 3:36 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
go then...
I thought this website was for A’s fans.
If the A’s moving 30 miles south would cause you to jump ship to the Gnats, then please go ahead and drop out now.
by Stew's Crew on Dec 10, 2008 3:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Agreed,
That does seem like a silly reason to stop being an A’s fan. Is thirty miles really that big of an issue? I live on the other side of the damn country and have never been able to attend one single A’s game. That being said, there is no way I will ever change my allegiance to this team, regardless of where the team ultimately settles.
by AEP2007 on Dec 11, 2008 8:28 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
SJ is the largest city in the Bay Area, has the highest per capita income, has the most corporate headquarters. In fact, the Bay Area was renamed the “San Jose-SF-Oakland Metro Area” a while back b/c of San Jose’s prominence.
Cust is the new Jaha.
by johnjahafanclub on Dec 10, 2008 3:47 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
not sure who names metro areas but ok. i just can’t imagine having to tell my kids that oakland wasn’t good enough to keep the team. we won’t get a second chance like brooklyn (kind of) got.
by MaineAthletic on Dec 10, 2008 6:56 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I wouldn't rule out a minor league team for Oakland and I wouldn't rule out Brooklyn getting a major
league team
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Dec 10, 2008 8:51 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
i was talking about the mets, not the cyclones. but a revival of the oaks would probably be better than nothing
by MaineAthletic on Dec 11, 2008 7:24 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
No offense,
but i feel the same way about Oakland….run-down, decrepit, and full of crime. I never go to Oakland besides attending A’s games (I at least frequent SF for the shopping, sites, food, etc.).
As for SJ, it is the heart of Silicon Valley and the largest population in the Bay area mind you. And besides San Francisco and the Golden Gate, this is what the Bay Area in general is known for: its intellect and ingenuity (something that can’t be said about the city of Oakland in any form recently). Sorry, if I offend some folks, but that’s just my opinion.
"Twenty minutes," says Jack Sr. "Thank god for Billy Beane."
"Any fan that wants us to do that is going to be disappointed because that just isn’t us." - Wolff
"Joe Morgan's going to think Beane wrote the movie too..." -whitshoes40
by ST on Dec 10, 2008 3:47 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
isn’t it the “largest population” because you people don’t have city limits?
The Maharg makes me look like an idiot.
by carp on Dec 10, 2008 5:47 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
yes, but
the surrounding cities of santa clara county are right next to san jose (santa clara, sunnyvale, mountain view, palo alto, los gatos), as opposed to alameda/contra costa counties, where 1/3 of the population lives on the other side of the mountains from oakland/fremont (ie livermore/antioch/concord).
Cust is the new Jaha.
by johnjahafanclub on Dec 10, 2008 6:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
And San Francisco is "limited" by more than politics
Hard to imagine cramming any more people into the city than already live here without some of them falling into the ocean.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
by PaulThomas on Dec 10, 2008 6:40 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Clearly you've not been to Kolkata
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Dec 10, 2008 8:52 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
You should spend some time in Japan ...
they know how to pack’em in …
"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback
by devo on Dec 10, 2008 9:43 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Ya I was there during November. Very efficient use of space.
It's not the results, it's how you look going about those results -- Tim McCarver
by WaddellCanseco on Dec 11, 2008 12:50 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I lived there for four months
I studied abroad at International Christian University, which while not a classic institution of higher learning, is an absolutely beautiful campus. It’s as though you stuck a university into the middle of Golden Gate park.
Even with their knack for cramming people in, urban Tokyo is about the same population density as San Francisco (although it’s much larger in area).
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
by PaulThomas on Dec 11, 2008 10:58 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
That surprises me..
Since my recollection from my last Tokyo visit around 2002, I thought it was very cramped and dense. My hotel room (Crowne Plaza) was a joke the size of single-family home bathroom. Restaurants were mostly quick-sit bar styles, and they placed houses / shops in the strangest places (directly under bridges). Not arguing with your assessment, just surprised from my observations while there.
"Twenty minutes," says Jack Sr. "Thank god for Billy Beane."
"Any fan that wants us to do that is going to be disappointed because that just isn’t us." - Wolff
"Joe Morgan's going to think Beane wrote the movie too..." -whitshoes40
by ST on Dec 11, 2008 11:01 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
From wikipedia
Also within the administrative boundaries of Tokyo Metropolis are two island chains in the Pacific Ocean directly south: the Izu Islands, and the Ogasawara Islands, which stretch more than 1,000 km away from mainland Japan. Because of these islands and mountainous regions to the west, Tokyo’s overall population density figures far underrepresent the real figures for urban and suburban regions of Tokyo.
With all of the various “Hills” and similar projects going up, Tokyo is going to continue getting denser and denser …
But I’m not just talking about Tokyo (although it is the extreme) everywhere I went, even rural farming villages, are tightly packed together.
"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback
by devo on Dec 11, 2008 11:52 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Izu and Ogasawara Islands: the Bobby Crosby's one good month of Tokyo
I'll send you a postcard from Space Mountain. @('.')@
by monkeyball on Dec 11, 2008 5:55 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I was using the figures for the inner wards of Tokyo, not the entire prefecture
parts of which are indeed not densely populated. (Although those island groups are so tiny that they barely matter. We’re talking like Iwo Jima here.)
And you’re right— if you rule out the parts of Japan where NOBODY lives, which is most of the land area of the country, the rest is ridiculously dense. At least 2/3 of the square mileage of Japan is economically useless mountains.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
by PaulThomas on Dec 12, 2008 1:45 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
i know you hedged your bets but next time you come up for a game stay awhile. oakland is the most diverse city in the us, has great food and music venues, parks, etc. berkeley is a great town too. obviously no city is perfect but i just feel (probably wrongly so) that if the A’s move to SJ they will be plagued with many of the the misfortunes we poke fun at the giants for (yuppie corporate fans, huge stadium debt, fans who don’t care about the game, need to sign marquee players, etc.).
by MaineAthletic on Dec 10, 2008 7:03 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
I like having the...
ability to sign marquee players…
by swerv on Dec 10, 2008 7:06 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
The ability but not the desire
I don’t want the A’s to become big players in the free agent market. I just want them to be able to hold onto the top players they develop themselves. Let the competition knock themselves out bidding for the likes of A-Rod and Manny. I’m frustrated with decisions like, We have Tejada, Hudson, and Chavez but we can afford to re-sign only one of them. Which one should it be? When the A’s can get beyond decisions like that, I’ll be happy.
Root for the Giants? Not even if they're playing al-Qaeda!
by Monday Fan on Dec 10, 2008 8:25 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
They'd be lucky to get the A's
Seriously, the Athletics are the superior ball club. Once given an equal chance to root for one over the other most baseball fans would choose the A’s. Message to Giants fans: Really? Why?
by T-Money on Dec 10, 2008 3:37 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
I agree
I grew up in the Easy Bay as a diehard A’s fan. Life’s circumstances brought me to the South Bay about ten years ago. For most of that time I have been surrounded by Giants fans fawning over the greatness of Bonds and the superiority of their ballpark. I agree that there has been a drastic change over the past couple years. I’m finding my neighbors and coworkers who consider themselves to be Giants fans becoming disinterested with their team in the wake of Bonds a seeming lack of overall vision for improving their team. I think many would switch to the A’s if the came to San Jose. Convenience would be a major factor, but also the A’s year in and year out put a better team out on the field. Build it now!
by noonan on Dec 10, 2008 3:50 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Definitely Giants-heavy
As someone who grew up in the South Bay (but now living in Oakland), it’s all about the Giants. Also, I teach at a community college down there and if you did a survey of caps worn by students it’s gonna be 80/20 Giants/A’s. There’s no way it’s anywhere near an even split.
Still, the A’s are your indie/punk/emo/hipster team (Giants are for yuppies), but the word “Oakland” scares sensitive, sheltered types so it restricts the fan base a little.
So maybe that’s part of Wolff’s plan: Give SJ a team of its own and build some pride around it. Sounds like it would work, to the detriment of the Giants anyway.
Does Oakland end up with SF’s Single-A team? Renamed Oakland Oaks?
Did Wolff plan on going to San Jose all along, setting up Fremont as a stunt “forcing” them to go to SJ or threaten to leave the Bay Area?
by Mark H on Dec 10, 2008 4:53 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Your students must not be transferring to SJSU.
Easily 80/20 A’s/Giants there. Of course, it is a commuter university, so there’s no telling how many of those cap-wearers actually live in SJ. I don’t.
Ray: "How fun is it to be up here playing in the Big Leagues?"
Gio: "It's *SUPER* fun!!!"
by Poppy on Dec 10, 2008 5:21 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
It would change if the A's were to move there
Put an expansion team in San Jose and that’s who they will root for. Put the A’s there and that’s who they’ll root for. The core of Giants fans who dominate San Jose now will either adopt the new team or age and die to be replaced by a new generation with no loyalty to the Giants. That’s exactly what happened in Oakland which rooted for San Francisco teams before we got teams of our own.
Root for the Giants? Not even if they're playing al-Qaeda!
by Monday Fan on Dec 10, 2008 6:00 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Agreed.
In think in the end you’d end up seeing the A’s as the dominant team in the area if they moved to the South Bay. May take 30 years but it will happen. As is the current split is probably 70-30 Giants.
by athletics68 on Dec 10, 2008 9:58 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Interesting comment from the Merc.
In today’s article :
that the Oakland A’s might abandon plans to move to Fremont by 2012 — and resume a San Jose dalliance that all but died two years ago — flared to life Monday. That day, the A’s released a letter from baseball Commissioner Bud Selig that some read as clearing away the issue of the Giants’ territorial rights.[/quote]Does anyone have a copy of that letter besides the tidbit from KTVU news? it’s also interesting to see all the proposed sites in play. I’d talk more about it, but that’s for another fanpost.
"Twenty minutes," says Jack Sr. "Thank god for Billy Beane."
"Any fan that wants us to do that is going to be disappointed because that just isn’t us." - Wolff
"Joe Morgan's going to think Beane wrote the movie too..." -whitshoes40
by ST on Dec 11, 2008 10:58 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Not even close!
Obviously I’m a complete die hard and wish it wasn’t true, but the ratio of Giants to A’s fans to me seems like 95-5. It’s probably closer to 80-20 but for the 13 years I’ve lived in San Jose I haven’t seen many A’s hats.
by fansince1980 on Dec 11, 2008 8:15 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
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