The following is an email I sent to Damon on 23 June 2006. His reply will be aired tonight 26 June 2006 at 7pm. Please call in and tell him what you think, then come back and post your comments here.

Damon-
I was listening to your show tonight, and a couple of callers said some things that really got me to thinking. I couldn’t get thru at the time, so here we are exploring the wonders of asynchronous communication a la’ internet.

I study advertising and graphic design and I’ve been a Giants fan since before the years of Roger Craig and Hum Baby. Scenarios like tonight’s “Closer disappointment” are not unfamiliar to me, it’s kind of what I’ve come to expect. Like dating a really hot girl always teasing you to come hither then keeping you at arms length. When Benitez comes into the game, my heart breaks. It breaks for my team, it breaks for him. I know they want to win, I know they want to succeed. But it doesn’t happen and I know why.

You had a caller who would solve the problem with rally caps. When I first heard this I smiled. But he’s right. The problem with the Giants is a failure in branding themselves. I will make this argument in two points.

1. When I go to or watch a Giants game on television and look at the crowd I see a spattering of Giants fans, a handful of opposing team fans, and several thousand other people occupying seats. Who in the hell are these other people? They aren’t fans. Fans show up to the game to support their team. They energize the park, they electrify the air, they charge their boys up. They get on their feet, they make some noise, they wear as much color as they can. In our park, the fans wear orange.

You see color has a strong effect on how we perceive what is going on around us. Bright colors tend to exude energy, they make their presence known. I personally believe we lost the World series in 2002 because when our boys got down they looked up into the stands to sea a crushing see of RED. Angels by the TENS of THOUSANDS beating and howling like a great and dreadful army of doom. Damn rally monkey.

On the other hand grey is very muted neutral and black is worn when you want to de-emphasize something often hips and thighs. Nothing will make a crowd disappear like dressing in muted tones, except (because I know your thinking Raiders and the Black Hole) no coordination whatsoever. And that is what we have in the stands every game. Damon, i tell you this now, and I will repeat it till the day I die, “that beautiful park at China Basin should look like opening day of deer hunt every game.”

Now to be fair this lack of colorful expression isn’t all the fans fault. You have to remember a Giants fan was brought up on Candlestick Point, and the only rule about rooting for your team was making it through nine innings without dying of hypothermia. The parka was the rule and orange was the exception. But we have moved into a new park and a new era, which brings me to my next point.

2. The Giants organization does not understand their own brand. They do not know who they are. Or at least we don’t know who they are. Right now I see a great bunch of talent, some amazing defense, but I don’t see a team. I don’t see a special handshake, or even any real chumming around in the dugout. What I mean is, what does it mean to be a Giant? Does anybody know? I think that is where the coaching is
falling flat. It means something to put on navy pinstripes on the other coast. What does it mean to wear orange and black? and if the team doesn’t know… what in the hell am I supposed to do as a fan?

“Come out to the Park?” What kind of a message is that? That’s what you say when your team is so bad that no one would ever come out to see the game. Is the park more impressive then the game? Am I the fan supposed to be excited about the venue? Is the venue going to win a series? MVP? Spank the Dodgers? Create lasting memories of the american pastime? It helps, BUT IT IS NOT THE FOCUS. This is where
Giants Baseball is failing in a great big way. The message from the top is not “we have a great team”, “Our players are amazing”or “baseball is enchanting,” nope not even close. The message from the top is “we have an amazing facility and we’d like to fill seats.”

By the way don’t ever, EVER advertise baseball with a commercial that says “I know you don’t like baseball…”

And that is why the Giants are failing. Not because Barry can’t run, and Benitez couldn’t save a nickle, (Barry can still work some magic and Benitez for all of his inconsistency still has a nasty split
finger.) The Giants fail because they fail to instill the brand in their players and in their fans. The front office needs to ask themselves, “what does it mean to be a player, what does it mean to be a fan, what does it mean to be a Giant?”

Hope I didn’t bore you,

Jakey loves the game.

PS. Benitez would be fine if he started brushing some batters back.
You got to take what’s yours, and the plate belongs to the man.