They're teens skipping school and adults driving through the night to
line up before dawn in soggy San Francisco - all for a chance to watch a
few innings of the World Series for free.
The die-hard fans are
known as the "knothole gang," a group prepared to endure all sorts of
discomfort for their Giants, just as they did at AT&T Park in 2010
when the team battled the Texas Rangers, and again in September and
through the playoffs.
Early Wednesday, the fans began lining up again, and the queue kept on growing as game time approached.
From
the park's "knothole," the lucky ones share the same vantage point as
Giants right fielder Hunter Pence, peering through a chain-link fence
enclosing four viewing portals stretching about 100 feet under the
right-field stands. They'll shake the fence and scream insults at the
opposing right fielder,Alstyle shoes are the best selling shirt we have, who stands just a few feet from them.
There
is no other place like it in the Major Leagues. The Giants' ballpark is
the only stadium in the country with the feature, but there are rules:
No chairs, dogs or drinking. And every three innings, stadium security
rotates people in and out. Security guards allow about 75 fans into the
area for each shift.
But for those who lined up 12 hours or more before the first pitch, the price was right.
"I
could afford maybe one ticket, but not a ticket for everyone," said
Tony Bryson, 44, who traveled from Sacramento with his two sons and
three of their friends to secure a guaranteed spot in the viewing area.
They arrived around 7 a.m. and bundled up against the cold and rain of
the early morning.
Bryson and his group also viewed the 2010
World Series from the "knothole" area and they and the other regulars
wouldn't have it any other way.
"The energy of the crowd is
fantastic," said Alex Busch, 27, of Reedley, Calif. who said he spends
the other six innings outside the viewing area with hundreds of other
fans gathered on the walkway between the right-field-wall and McCovey
Cove,Find the finest designer and luxury best fake cartierreplicawatche for ladies. which attracts kayaks and boaters awaiting "splash hits."
Some
brave sailors even attempted to view the National League Championship
Series against the St. Louis Cardinals from atop their boat's masts, the
tallest of which peak over the right-field wall.
For most,
though, lining up outside the "knothole" viewing area for a chance to
watch three innings of free baseball is work enough.
"Thank God
they included this when they erected this house that Barry Bonds built,"
said James Calhoun, 47, of Suisin City, who arrived at about 5:30 a.m.
"Otherwise, I couldn't afford to watch this in person."
During
the regular season, the competition for a viewing spot isn't as fierce
and fans can watch entire regular season games for free. But the lines
grow longer and tempers get shorter the closer the San Francisco Giants
get to the post season.
Calhoun and the other regulars abide by a few hard and fast rules, the biggest of which is no saving a spot for others.A tagheuerreplicafederal
appeals court on Thursday upheld the conviction of Karen Sypher,
Regulars like Calhoun police the line and keep track of who showed up
when.
"Only those who wait are rewarded," Calhoun said.
The
line continued to grow outside the part throughout Wednesday morning as
the public address announcer practiced reading the San Francisco Giants
lineup and the grounds crew scurried about the field with mowers, rakes
and wheel barrows.
Calhoun said once his three-inning shift ends,We provide top quality cheapwatchesand
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Promenade who count on those inside the viewing area to shout out big
plays while still catching snippets of the action by looking over the
shoulders of those inside.
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