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 see
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.