The Game Wasn't the Attraction

The cheap seats have a good view of the Bay.

It was a forgettable game in which the Giants never seriously challenged the lowly 6-15 Padres in a 5-3 loss. The home team did give the crowd a few things to cheer about--home runs by Buster Posey and Angel Pagan and continuation of Pablo Sandoval's hitting streak to 20 games--but eleven (11) hits allowed and two errors caused the groans to prevail.

What we usually do on uninspiring days like these is enjoy the food, the view, and each other's company.  The three hours passed quickly.

Giants baseball is not an inexpensive outing--one can easily drop $20 on a hot dog, soda, and snack, plus at least $30 for the ticket--but last night the pain to the pocketbook was partially alleviated by the orange beanie that the first 20,000 fans received.

The price on eBay is $36 (and climbing!)

We'll add the beanie to our growing collection of Giants junk paraphernalia. (We didn't even unwrap ours, so its value should be enhanced by at least a couple of bucks.)

The most interesting speculation in our group concerned the gathering of seagulls in the 8th inning.  How did the scavengers know that the game was ending soon? Could they tell time? Could they read the scoreboard?

It turns out that someone has already researched this phenomenon:

the conclusion is that the 7th inning stretch is what cues the gulls to prepare for a feast.  The commotion of 40,000 people simultaneously standing and singing is the tip off. Gulls are very good at recognizing predictors for when food is going to become available. They have learned that the 7th inning stretch means that people will soon be clearing out of the stadium, leaving behind a plethora of half eaten, (and luckily in our ballpark) gourmet food.  

We learned something new about our feathered friends and received a valuable piece of headware.  It was a worthwhile evening after all. © 2012 Stephen Yuen