ONE-SIDED RIVALRY; GIANTS FANS HATE DODGERS, BUT DOES L.A. CARE?Byline: David Kligman Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Class vs. Crass. That's the way San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California that currently play in the National League West Division. New York Giants history Early days and the John McGraw era fans see their hostile rivalry with the Dodgers. Most seasons, Giants fans are happy just to see the Dodgers lose. But this year there's actually something at stake - the NL West championship. And that's reinvigorated one of baseball's fiercest feuds, although just how fierce depends which side you're on. ``The Dodgers were created by Satan,'' San Francisco Chronicle The San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young.[2] The paper grew along with San Francisco to become the largest circulation newspaper on the West Coast of the columnist Jon Carroll Jon Carroll is a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, beginning in 1982. He is featured on the backpage of the Datebook (the newspaper's entertainment section) on weekdays. Locally, he is best known for his moderate-to-liberal politics and his cat columns. wrote for last Monday's editions. ``Most baseball fans know that. They are a group of evil men with evil intentions. They wear royal blue and play before fans who do not care anything about baseball.'' OK, maybe that attitude is a bit exaggerated. But most Giants fans aren't shy about revealing their hatred of the National League neighbors to the south. ``It's a pure sports hate,'' Danny Broone said at a recent Giants game. ``I grew up with the concept of the rivalry. You're taught that if nothing else goes right during the season, at least beat the Dodgers.'' Broone said he attends several Dodgers-Giants games each year, but won't take his two young sons because crowds can get a little too ``vehement.'' ``It's not so much that you hate those people, but they're standing in the way of the pennant title,'' said Broone's wife, Trisha, a newly converted Giants fan. Her husband said it's only a matter of time before she also despises the Dodgers. When the Dodgers play in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , wearing Dodger blue can mean constant razzing by fans. And chants of ``Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.!'' are standard - even when the two teams aren't playing each other - when the scoreboard shows the Dodgers losing. Bleacher bleach·er n. 1. One that bleaches or is used in bleaching. 2. An often unroofed outdoor grandstand for seating spectators. Often used in the plural. brawls used to be common when the Dodgers came to town, although that subsided in recent years after beer sales were cut off following the seventh inning. Any love between the Giants and Dodgers may have been forever lost the day San Francisco pitcher Juan Marichal Aug. 22, 1965, sometimes known as ``Bloody Sunday,'' is a day still remembered fondly by many fans of the Giants, who beat the Dodgers in more ways than one. After the ensuing brawl, Willie Mays hit a 450-foot three-run homer off Sandy Koufax to give the Giants a 4-3 win. Giants manager Dusty Baker - himself a former Dodger - keeps a glass-framed photo of the brawl on his stadium office wall. ``Roseboro deserved it. He needed an attitude adjustment,'' said Dennis Denzinger, who peddles souvenirs at Giants games. As far as Denzinger and other northern California Giants fans are concerned, Los Angeles is a car-dependent, celebrity-obsessed, smoggy, crime-ridden mess. It's not exactly their first vacation destination. Many Dodger fans, on the other hand, said they have no personal gripe gripe v. To have sharp pains in the bowels. n. 1. gripes Sharp, spasmodic pains in the bowels. 2. A firm hold; a grasp. with the Giants or their city. They're the team to beat this year, just as San Diego stood in the way of the division title last year. ``I've got a lot of respect for the Giants,'' said Peter George as he watched the Dodgers on television at a sports bar in Los Angeles. ``They've got a lot of good players. It's a great place, a beautiful place.'' If there are any complaints it's that San Francisco fans can be a bit too intense. ``They've got to learn to chill,'' said Tom Wade, another sports bar patron. ``It's a very nice city, but it'll never be another L.A. We're cool down here, we go with the flow. San Francisco is locked into their culture, we're not.'' Baseball historian Eric Solomon said the reason for the differing attitudes goes back to the teams' New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of roots. The New York Giants
``The Dodgers go to L.A. and they are real winners. The Giants go to San Francisco, and while they have some great players, they are not winners,'' said Solomon, a San Francisco State University • • [ professor. ``Suddenly, the images are reversed. ``It would seem somewhat logical that there is always a sense of insecurity about the Giants. And there is always the sense about the Dodgers that they know how to win.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1) Giants pitcher Juan Marichal swings at Dodgers catcher John Roseboro as pitcher Sandy Koufax tries to intervene in the Aug. 22, 1965 incident. Daily News File Photo (2) WILLIE BROWN San Francisco's mayor said he hopes to make a bet with Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan on the outcome of the race for the NL West championship |
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