The Definitive Question: A's or Giants?

The Bay Area is fortunate enough to have not one but two MLB franchises, and the two have competed for Bay Area loyalty ever since they moved here in the 1960's. They are unique in their respective appeals, but which one should you root for?

As a child growing up in the Bay Area, life can be very confusing. 

Numerous pressures face our children as they begin to discover who they will become and  each child is faced with unique experiences that will shape the rest of their lives. Will they become the next Jerry Rice or Joe Montana? Will they discover a new technology that takes over Silicon Valley? Or will they commit the rest of there lives to video games and that certain plant that is quite abundant around these parts?The Bay Area is home to a plethora of decisions, opportunities and lifestyles and each individual is on a quest to find their own unique niche.

Throughout this process of self-discovery there is one common dilemma that faces all of us here in the Bay Area. And this question may quite possibly be the most important of them all.

Giants or A's?

You see, this is a decision that truly defines who we are, what we value, and what we believe to be just in this world! Choosing Giants or A's is like choosing Democrat or Republican.  Its like choosing the girl you want to marry and its like choosing regular or animal style at your local In-n-Out.

There are two kinds of people in this world.; their are A's fans and their are Giants fans. Each represent a unique way of viewing the world. A man is defined no more by career, income or religious views than he is by his selection of a Bay Area baseball team. What makes the stakes so high for this decision, forced on us in our formative years, is the difficulty in determining which team is actually, well, better?

Which team is most likely to bring home a World Series title to the championship deprived Bay Area? Which team will embroil themselves in heated rivalry's and playoff battles, which will entertain us for years to come? Which team will we be proud to pass down to our children and recount stories about players past with our grandchildren?

This monumental decision is the burden we place on our youth. 

As a child I was tugged, pulled and willed by opposing forces, urging me in different directions. Fond childhood memories include returning from the ball park with crisp new Athletic replica (plastic) batting helmet, and autographed baseballs and gloves from Will Clark, Robby Thompson and Shawn Estes. As a twelve year old little leaguer I won a little league championship wearing SF Giants attire, and as a 16 year old i enjoyed my final year of baseball wearing the familiar Green and Gold.

Both teams offer attractive qualities and it can be difficult to separate the valid ones from the superficial. So lets take off the rose colored glasses that influenced our child hood and take a big boys objective look at the two franchises.

First off is the Giants, owner of the shiny, brand new stadium that sits on the fringes of the San Francisco Bay.

To be a Giants fan is to be of a slightly higher class. SBC crowds includes big shots making press box deals, casual fans enjoying a day in the city, youth groups on day trips and devoted fans chanting from the bleachers.

The Giants brand is no nonsense, old school, blue collar baseball. Epitomized by Willie Mays, Will Clark, Matt Williams, Rob Nen, JT Snow and most recently Tim Lincecum and Panda Sandoval. Popular Giants players have always been blue collar with sublte, charismatic charm. Pre-madonnas, head cases and jackasses, need not apply. (Save for a certain #25.)

The Giants are the media darlings. Kruk, Quip and Jon Miller provide endless wit, entertainment and insight as each broadcast guarantees to be a delight. KNBR provides constant analysis and insight from quality radio personalities, players and coaches and numerous online blogs chronicle the teams every move.

The Giants are mainstream. They are corporate and they are easy to like.

The A's on the other hand, are the alternative.

The A's are young, they have personality, they take risks and they win championships.

Defined by the erratic personality of long time owner Charile O. Finley, the A's have showcased larger than life personalities such as Rollie Fingers, Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson, Dennis Eckersely, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire.

A's fans chant, bang drums, get drunk and make up cool nicknames.

If the Bay Area was a college campus, the Kappa Sigma Giants would be throwing a tuxedo only formal, and the Sigma Gamma A's would be streaking through the quad and towards the gymnasium.

True, the A's play their home games in a dumpy football stadium. True they rarely sell out home games, and also true, they have the lamest TV announcers in the major leagues. (Im still trying to figure out who Ray Fosse murdered to keep his job.)

But also true; the A's won the Bay Bridge series in 1989s, the A's have won more games this past decade and the A's do have Billy Beane, arguably the smartest General Manager in all of baseball.

So who do you choose? What team deserves your baseball fanhood for the rest of your adult life?

....Article conituned in part 2. coming soon