Hailing from the “City by the Bay,” I am an avid San Francisco Giants fan. Growing up under the tutelage of my grandfather, I learned the importance of unceasing loyalty and pride in my city and my team.
Following from this devotion I have a natural, almost innate hatred of Los Angeles, the Dodgers and pretty much anything south of Fresno. That’s why I almost collapsed when I heard that Giants’ Assistant General Manager Ned Colletti had accepted the job as GM for that team in Chavez Ravine.
Who’s Ned Colletti, you ask? Good question. For the last nine years, the 50-year-old Colletti has served under Giants’ General Manager Brian Sabaen, performing much of the scouting and front office legwork that has allowed the Giants to play only about 10 meaningless games in the last five years. Colletti is a great negotiator and communicator and I loved him for all his work in San Francisco. But now I hate him.
The Giants-Dodgers rivalry, extending back to their time in New York, is one of the greatest in sports, only nobody talks about it because it’s not the Yankees-Red Sox or some other east coast rivalry that gets blown way out of proportion. From Bobby Thompson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” in 1951 to Juan Marichal swinging a bat at John Roseboro’s head, from Brian Johnson’s 12th inning division-clinching home run in 1997 to Steve Finley’s grand slam that knocked out the Giants in 2004: The competition between these two teams is fierce.
And it is in these cases that I wish the business aspect of sports would take a backseat to the passion of the game itself. When you’re a Giant you hate the Dodgers, and when you’re a Dodger you hate the Giants. But you can’t do both. Do you think Red Sox fans can imagine Joe Torre as their skipper or Florida State fans can conjure up images of Steve Spurrier as their head coach?
In the world of free agency players, front office officials often say, “Well, that’s just the business of the game,” after a transaction or change in teams. And I would have to agree with that statement. Player movement is a part of any business, especially the entertainment world of sports.
But when it comes to fierce rivalries, certain lines shouldn’t be crossed. Players, coaches, general managers and entire organizations should buy into this concept as much as their fans. It hurts the fans when a member of the organization they love and admire leaves their favorite club. And moving to the rival’s team is like sticking a dagger in the heart of the people who pay money to watch you work.
When Jackie Robinson’s astounding career was winding down with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, he was traded to cross-town rival New York Giants for Dick Littlefield and $30,000 cash. But Robinson, staying true to Dodger blue, refused to report to his new team. The trade was voided and Robinson retired, ending his career in Brooklyn.
This is the dedication to sport’s great rivalries that is missing. These contests are more than games on a schedule. They carry the aspirations of a city, as fans painstakingly follow every heart-wrenching moment. It’s not right that teams cheapen such devotion by committing an act of treason and aiding the enemy. Here’s hoping that it never happens again.
