San Luis Obispo – Black or Blue?

Is San Luis Obispo, CA a “Giants town”, or a “Dodgers town”?

That was the question I had as I trolled Higuera Street during Farmer’s Market on Thursday. Since the Giants’ World Series trophy was on display, and with the baseball season fast-approaching, I thought it might be a good setting to ask the question.

The World Series Trophy came to SLO Thursday night

Having grown up in San Luis Obispo County, I have always had a balanced picture of baseball fansmanship in this county. While SLO is clearly a Lakers town, the Dodgers-Giants rivalry cuts through the heart of the county, from the vineyards on the east side, to the beaches, and the Five-Cities area. If you were to draw a horizontal line of demarcation through California, the line would go from somewhere in SLO County, eastward between Fresno (Giants country) and Bakersfield (Dodgers country).

While the Mains have always bled Dodger blue, many of my best friends were Giants fans. The best example was my buddy Miles, whose father always had the voice of Giants broadcasters blaring in the garage as he did weekend work. Miles and I always got along, especially when it came to baseball. Despite baseball nearly always being a topic, there was never vitriol or animosity surrounding the Dodgers and Giants. I now realize that to an outsider, it must have looked like cats and dogs or snakes and mongooses living together in peace.

The moment I got to college, my view of the Giants changed. At UC-San Diego, I found that my three roommates freshman year were all from northern California and, more importantly, were all big Giants fans. I learned a lot about Giants fans that year. They were used to losing and the main thing that mattered to them at that time was beating the Dodgers and rooting for number 25- Barry Bonds: the greatest Giant ever. Bonds was already becoming a colossus – in 2001 he would break the all-time single season record.

Coming from SLO County- the Dodgers-Giants demilitarized zone, I wasn’t prepared for what I was in for. The accepted hatred level of all-things-Dodgers was palpable. I quickly learned that Giants fans hated the Dodgers seemingly more than they liked their own team. A Dodgers’ loss seemed to make them happier than a Giants’ win. Not only did my Bay Area roommates hate everything Dodgers-related, they seemed to hate everything Los Angeles-related.

In 2000, the Spring of my freshman year of college, the Giants opened their new stadium. Kevin Elster cemented his Dodgers legacy that year by hitting three home runs in the Giants’ first game in their new park. After listening to my roomates’ anti-Dodgers rants all Winter and Spring, I fell to their level. For a long time after that, my response to their jeers was simply, “Kevin Elster.” While I didn’t hate the Giants as much as they hated the Dodgers, I began to dislike the Giants and their battery-chucking, hate-filled fans more than I ever had in the past.

So in the summer of 2010, I found myself back in San Luis Obispo watching the Giants (whoI had learned to hate so much in adulthood) win the World Series. Fans who I didn’t know even cared about baseball all of a sudden had plenty to say around town. Orange and black became more common colors than ever. While I always thought of SLO as evenly distributed between Dodgers and Giants fans, it seemed that the tide might be turning.

The Giants winning the World Series was compounded for Dodgers fans by the turmoil the Dodgers ownership was in. With the Dodgers operating like a small or mid-market team and the Giants winning the World Series, my sports-depression ran deep. Not even a lingering memory of the Lakers victory could counteract how bad I felt about sports for months after the Giants won the Series. With the trophy in San Luis Obispo on Thursday night, I thought mingling with Giants fans might serve a dual purpose – finding out which baseball team ruled San Luis Obispo while also providing an opportunity for personal catharsis.

It didn’t start well. I couldn’t help but to wear my Dodgers hat. Still two blocks away from the site of the trophy, some Giants fan walking the other way said to me, “Hey, did you see what’s down there?…” When he got just a confused smile in response from me, he finished his sentence: “It’s the GIANTS World Series trophy.”

Approaching the corner of Higuera and Chorro streets, the scene was really incredible. A line a half-mile long stretched well past the mission and probably around the corner. Milling about with those not in line, two distinct comments from orange and black-clad folks came my way:

“That’s ballsy,” pointing to my hat.

And, “Dude, you’re gonna get shot.”

Obviously someone had not been in the happiest city in America very long.

After two “Beat LA” chants (one of which had an angry-looking mob of about 20 people pointing at me and my hat as they chanted) and one “Let’s Go Giants” chant, the crowd got what they were waiting for, a chance to take their picture with the trophy.

With the crowd’s attention diverted away from Dodger-hating and back to their world championship, I thought it a good time to start asking people around Farmer’s Market whether SLO belonged to the Dodgers or Giants.

This old-timer, whose name I think was Bram – a Giants fan since the 40’s – described how he thought SLO might be shifting its fansmanship to the North.

Steven and Bob, originally from Salinas, were a little more sure about SLO being a Giants town than Bram.

Tyler, originally from Santa Cruz, isn’t happy about SLO being what he says is a Dodgers town. While he isn’t happy about the Dodgers games being shown on television in SLO County, he probably gives the most coherent and reasonable response I got all night.

After a few interviews, I walked down the street. I saw lots of fun things, got a few more sideways glances for my Dodgers hat, and saw what other “attractions” Farmers Market had on this night. While the Giants crowd probably saw at least 3,000 people, this good old-timey band had about 15 people watching them…

On the other end of Farmer’s Market, I saw a group that I first mistook for the Dodgers’ ownership. I’m still not sure whether they were, but I’ll let you watch the video and make the call.

Where is Mark Cuban when you need him?

Larry, who lives in the South County, grew up a Giants fan in Fresno and later came to root for the Dodgers. He also seems pretty reasonable in his assessment.

The final interview of the night was with Dave K. In the spirit of full disclosure, Dave is a friend of mine. He likes to push my sports-related buttons and I push his (he is a Redskins fan, after all). He is another transplant and tries to reason that it’s a Giants town due to the recent Giants success. I don’t buy it.

So what’s the real answer to the question? I expected most of the response at this Farmers Market to lean toward orange and black rather than blue. I didn’t do a poll beforehand, but I have lived on the Central Coast for 23 of my almost 30 years on the planet. After interviewing people in SLO and talking to lots of people over the past few weeks, it’s clear that the county has a pretty even mixture of support.

Over the past year, I’ve seen more Giants gear around town than ever. The Giants were more successful last season and recently the fansmanship in the county is certainly trending toward them.

Despite the Giants’ recent success, I think the Dodgers still maintain fansmanship over fifty percent in SLO County. Given the fact that I have an Andre Ethier T-Shirt on as I write this, my conclusion shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. The final piece of logic is this – if the Dodgers would have won the championship and brought the trophy to San Luis Obispo, there would have been even more fans lined up. The sea of Dodger blue might have gone all the way down Chorro to the 101.

I will say this: If the McCourt ownership drama continues for another year or two, the Dodgers could continue to act like a small-market team. If the Giants continue to make the playoffs and outspend their rivals from the South, any lead the Dodgers have could close faster than Frank McCourt’s credit line.

Despite the few jeers, threats, and comments I received, I still think SLO County Dodgers and Giants fans have much less anger toward one another than anyone will find in the left field pavillion in Chavez Ravine or up North by the bay. Whether it’s a Dodgers or Giants town, perhaps cats and dogs really can get along in the happiest city in America.

Trackbacks

1. - Fansmanship says:

   06/17/2011 at 6:46 am

   […] SAN LUIS OBISPO – BLACK OR BLUE? […]
2. Worst Comeback Line in Sports: “You’re a Laker Hater” | Fansmanship says:

   08/13/2012 at 7:29 am

   […] example of this was documented by our own Owen Main in the Spring of 2011. Main asked the question in this article: Is the Central Coast a Giants or Dodgers country? And the answer was neither. What we […]
3. 2012: The world didn’t end and other great sports moments — A Top-10 - Fansmanship says:

   12/31/2012 at 5:59 pm

   […] As a side note, the World Series trophy will visit the Central Coast again around Valentine’s Day. I don’t know why they’re bringing both of their two whole trophies they’ve won in San Francisco, but they are. And you can be there to get your picture taken with it or something. I’ll probably be there with my camera and some Dodgers gear on. […]
4. Giants’ World Series Trophy comes to San Luis Obispo… Again - Fansmanship says:

   02/20/2013 at 6:27 am

   […] The last time I did this, the trophy was in the center of Farmer’s Market — on a table outside on a street corner. This time, the line was just as long — snaking around the block with some fans waiting up to two hours to get a chance to get their picture taken with the ultimate prize. […]