World Series: View From the Knothole

It's not too often that San Francisco has had a chance to set the baseball world on its ear. That accomplishment was done by Oakland in the 1970's and 80's, because it has the cooler ball park that's also near a BART train stop.
1962. 1989. 2002. Those were the three chances the Giants had to bring a World Series win to the Golden Gate. In order, they came within a line drive of beating the Yankees, got swept after an earthquake, and was beaten by a rally monkey from Anaheim.
I never even got the chance to get close to a World Series because I was too far away, or I had to work. I finally got lucky when a day off on October 28th, which I requested to see a Rifftrax movie, got turned into a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
I got to see the middle innings of game 2 through the famous right field Knothole. About 450 people got that rare chance to step inside and see a very important game, or part of it, for free.



Sure, people could have gone to the Public House to see it on HDTV, or at several nearby bars, restaurants and small grocery stores. Still, being just a few feet away from Edger Renteria's homer in the fifth is still something special, even under the bleachers separated by a fence.
In fact, people waited for hours to get a wrist band to get in for three innings.



Thanks to my Comic-Con training, and a filled iPod, I managed to get a writsband to see the game in the middle innings after waiting two hours. People who wanted to get into the first game waited since two a-m for their wristbands.
Looking back, I should have gotten some kind of World Series souvenir, but I bet one will be in my hands sooner than later.

Here's another view from inside the Knothole....



For those who could not get in, that didn't matter...



As long as got a glimpse somehow of the action, that was enough....because this was the World Series, and it's only the third time it's come to San Francisco since 1962. At AT&T Park, it's a very special atmosphere. Even if you couldn't get inside, being around the place, and watching the game at the bar outside the park is good enough.
Otherwise, just sail on McCovey Bay, and hope a home run ball comes your way, like these guys...



Since the game came just before Halloween, a lot of people came in costume, from kids whose faces dressed like Brian Wilson to a guy named the Rally Pumpkin....





Here's a link to the entire set of photos I took. I might add more from a sports bar in Sacramento, but that depends on what happens this weekend.