Saturday, March 19, 2011

15 seconds of glory

If that.

My "Trophy Tour presented by Visa" official Giants "fanphotos" business card tells me I was at event number 56. Andres Torres is number 56 so I'm cool with it. We were in line at 10:30 and saw the Trophy at 11:30. There were probably 100 people in front of us, maybe 150 tops. Considering the viewing was scheduled to open at 11:00, I thought that was fairly brisk. And brisk it was, prompting mutterings from the group in front of us about "Candlestick weather." Southern Oregon's lively and loyal Giants fan base turned out in all their gear for the big event. We saw lots of vintage jackets (it was cold) and sweatshirts as well as many of the new World Champs caps. We had our caps on, and our vintage jackets. There were two toddlers running around wearing oversized black uniform jerseys. They charmed half the line and people were taking candids. The massive shirts were like these awesome ponchos that kept them warm but weren't confining. I wanted an adult one.

Medford's US Cellular Community Park Softball/Baseball Complex filled up fast--multiple Little League games were happening at the same time. There were no signs or obvious directions to where the Trophy would actually be, but the orange & black contingent had a rough line of sorts that was pulling in all similarly-clad citizens, drawing them in inexorably, so we followed. Turned out to be a pretty simple affair. The Trophy was in a cordoned-off area behind an opaque heavy fabric fence. Then a little foyer was roped off and a security guy asked "how many in your party?" He'd send you into the tented area (the photographer and her lights and etc. were under cover, but the Trophy was not) where you got to pose and SNAP and it was over. I think I remember breathing. You could mill around behind the cordon, and look through a cyclone-type barrier and see the Trophy and watch people getting their turn. They let you take pictures as long as you were outside and out of the way. They have a guy saying you can photograph the Trophy but not anyone and the Trophy. It was a relaxed scene. There were probably 300 people behind me in line and more people were on their way when we were done. The cold weather was turning to rain and snow as we drove back over Siskiyou Summit to California. The Trophy was supposed to be viewable until 2:00, but I have a feeling some precipitation shortened their day.

The Rosetta Stone was bigger than I thought it would be when I saw it in the British Museum in London. The Trophy seemed smaller than it should have been. But that's consistent with my Law of the Universe No. 27 (or was it 28? I forget): things are always smaller in real life. Admittedly, I barely had time to glance down at the thing when I had to look up and smile. I made a point to give it a good look from the back of the pavilion and it seemed about right for a ballplayer to hold it up over his head and act goofy with it. Mostly, I just wanted to feel the glow. I'm glad we left early and got in and out before the weather got worse. This was really a recon mission--tomorrow the Trophy will be in Siskiyou County. The Mt. Shasta City Park is hosting a viewing from 10:00 to 1:00. That's the big event for us. This trip up north was an insurance trip. A have-to-go-it-is-too-close-not-to trip. I'm glad we went, even if the actual moment of glory was a bit of an anti-climax.

So. Major goal accomplished. Trophy viewed. Relief palpable. Joy brewing. Tomorrow it will be even better. More time for mere basking. Of course, there's one complication (this from the NWS):

Sunday: Snow. High near 33. Breezy, with a south southeast wind 8 to 11 mph increasing to between 21 and 24 mph. Winds could gust as high as 36 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 7 inches possible.


Good thing we've got four-wheel drive. And Candlestick-tested foul-weather gear.

--M.C.

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