After spending a lot of time in the last few weeks contacting news station like NBC Bay Area, The Mercury News, and East Bay Times, without any response, and even more emails to blogs like Bay Area Spots Guy and Warriors World, again without response, I realized that there isn’t anyone else I should interview for this project besides………………….
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My Father.
His name is Larry so his answers will be labeled “L” and since I love talking sports, I’ll be answering the questions too, with my answers labeled “R”.
Q1: Where in California have you lived and during what years of your life?
L: San Luis Obispo from 1947 – 1949 and the Monterey Bay Area(Monterey, Carmel, Salinas) from 1949 – 2005.
R: Salinas, CA from 1996 – 2005.
Q2: Who/what introduced you to the San Francisco Giants, the San Francisco 49ers, the Golden State Warriors and the San Jose Sharks?
L: The 49ers and Giants from my dad, uncles and cousins and the Warriors and Sharks from my friends and co-workers.
R: All four from family. My dad, mom, brother, aunts and uncles.
Q3: What is your fondest memory of any of your favorite teams from the Bay Area?
L: Paying $2 to sit in the bleachers and watch true doubleheaders. Two SF Giants games for $2.00, with your brother and his friends.
R: Too many for my generation, after recent success for the Giants and Warriors, but one that does stick out the three straight NFC Championship appearances by the 49ers from 2011-2013(even though they never actually won a Super Bowl).
Q4: Who was your favorite Bay Area athlete(s) while growing up/as a young adult?
L: There is only one answer…Willie Mays!
R: Barry Bonds.
San Francisco Giants Legends Willie Mays(left) and Barry Bonds(right).
Q5: Who is your favorite Bay Area athlete(s) now?
L: Probably SF Giants Shortstop Brandon Crawford right now.
R: Golden State Warriors Guard, Stephen Curry.
Q6: What are your thoughts on the Raiders move to Las Vegas in a few years?
L: The second time the Raiders have deserted their fans. Bye Bye, don’t come back!
R: This just means the 49ers are the best NFL team in the Bay now!
Q7: List your top five favorite championship teams, from the Bay Area and a short description why. (In any particular order)
L:
- 2010 – SF Giants – after losing the 1989 earthquake series against the A’s.
- 1982 – 49ers – Ray Wersching kicked 2 field goals in the 4th quarter.
- 1975 – Warriors – Rick Barry carried the team through the Finals, for their first NBA Title.
- 1972 – Oakland A’s – 7 game series against Reds, for their first World Series win in Oakland.
- 1990 – 49ers – Super Bowl XXIV, Niners beat the Denver Broncos 55-10. It was the first date with mom. We went to a Bronco’s party at a friend’s house and rubbed it in the whole game.
R:
- 2010 – SF Giants – It was the first championship team I had seen from any of my favorite teams.
- 2015 – Warriors – First championship in 40 years and LeBron and the Cavaliers lost.
- 2014 – SF Giants – Madison Bumgarner set the record for lowest World Series ERA ever.
- 2016 – Sharks – Didn’t actually win the Stanley Cup but was their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in their history.
- 2012 – SF Giants – Clean sweep of the Detroit Tigers and Pablo Sandoval’s 3 home run game.
It’s always a blessing whenever the Giants or 49ers or Warriors play the Twins, Viking or Timberwolves and my father and I get to watch their broadcasts or even go to the games if they play in Minneapolis!
I already know my dad is counting the days until June 9-11 when the Twins go to San Francisco, to get swept by the Giants!
From the Bay to the Universe 
$2 for two baseball games?!?! That sounds amazing! I liked that both you and your father answered the questions, it added a level of generational comparison to your post that was interesting to see, as well as compare and contrast. I also really liked your choice in pictures, which really tie the post together.
Great post!
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Thanks! I wasn’t even going for the generational contrast that you pointed out but I definitely see how that adds to the post!
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I really enjoyed reading this interview! Not gonna lie, it was precious seeing what you guys had in common, and also the generational differences. What’s your favorite game you’ve gone to with your dad?
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A couple years ago my sister and I got him tickets, for his birthday, for a 49ers game in Minnesota. It was my and my sister’s first 49ers game and his first in a long time!
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Robert,
This was such a cool post to read! I loved that you included your own answers so we could see the comparison and influence your dad has had on you growing up. It honestly amazes me that people have such great memories when it comes to sports moments throughout history when I can barely remember last week, haha! It was also super sweet and sentimental that your dad tied into his memories with your mom and brother.
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I can only imagine a world with only playing $2 to watch MLB teams. I wish it was still like that so a lot of us college students a high school students would be able to go! However, the $100 tickets still sell and the stadiums make SO much money, so we’ll never see prices reduce – even when the MN twins suck, the games are still the same price. Ridiculous. Good post!
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This was a really cute post to see your answers vs your dad’s. It is easy to understand why you guys love California teams so much, and I am not surprised you have not lost your love for them. The picture with Mays and Bonds together was pretty cool as well.
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Mays and Bonds are actually very close! Mays was close with Barry Bonds’ dad, Bobby, and was a mentor to him. Once Barry was born, Bobby made Willie Mays his Godfather.
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As a father, it was great reading this post and I enjoy how you started it out, building suspense to the “My Father” answer. What I appreciate the most about this post is how obvious and beautiful of a sports relationship you and your father have. I envy the relationship and hope that one day my son and I can have a sports connection pass down one generation to another.
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I’m sure everyone else said the same thing, but only $2 for two Giant’s games?! That’s insane! No wonder he’s a die hard fan. I hope that I too can someday make a top five favorite Minnesota championship teams, but it is looking less and less likely as each year goes by without a championship game. Loved the interview and all the blogs you posted this semester!
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I thought the coolest part of your interview was the top 5 moments in Bay Area sports. I find it interesting how every generation has their own favorite moments that probably can’t be replaced by a newer team. It’s so weird thinking about the 49ers teams nowadays being as dominant as they were in the 80s and 90s! After reading through the interview I forgot how much success the Bay Area has had over the years. As a Sharks fan myself I was really glad they were finally able to get over the hump of being great in the regular season then losing early in the playoffs, even if they did lose in the Final!
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