During the third inning of Game 6 of the World Series on Tuesday, as fans walked into Chukchansi Park for the live screening, a security guard at the gate had somber news for San Francsico Giants fans.
“It’s not looking good,” he said.
That’s because the Giants were down 7-0 to the Kansas City Royals by the end of the frame.
Despite being home to the Fresno Grizzles, the former Triple-A minor-league affiliate of the Giants, no mention of the local team was made. However, fans were able to get Giants merchandise for 50 percent off as a gesture of goodwill between the park and the fans.
With the World Series now going to a seventh, and decisive, game due to the 10-0 defeat, the Giants fans in attendance enjoyed watching the contest on the big screen.
“I’m glad they held the game at Chukchansi, but I would have been even happier if they won the game,” said longtime Giants fan, Julia Campos. “We’ve been really good in the postseason for the last couple of years, and I have no doubt we’ll win the next game.”
The sentiment among most of the fans leaving wasn’t frustration. In fact, everyone left with the same hope they had coming into this game: the hope of winning the World Series. Now, it will just take the Giants one more game to try to win the championship.
The most excitement in the game came during the double plays the Giants performed throughout the game.
However, the game wasn’t able to excite the fans as much as a couple of security issues throughout the screening. In fact, toward the end of the game, most of the people left in the stadium were paying attention to a couple of young girls who kept standing on top of the stadium gates and a security guard yell at them to get off for about two minutes.
Anthony Garcia and his family were all dressed in Giants gear, and he shares the hope that his favorite team will win the World Series tonight.
“We always try to come to Grizzlies games,” he said, “so we’re just trying to support the Giants whenever we can. Hopefully, those girls will know better from now on then to stand on the side of the gates.”
After the seven-run second inning by the Royals, the Giants never seemed to gather any momentum. As the game progressed, the fans slowly left the stadium. About 150 fans were in attendance at the beginning of the third, 75 fans after the fifth, and 30 at the end of the game.
“I love the Giants and so does my family, but when the team’s down by seven or eight runs late in the game, it’s ready to leave,” said Enrique Herrera. “We’ll be back in it the next game. I definitely like our chances to win the Series.”
The best part of the scene was that no one was complaining, no fan took the loss to heart, and everyone still had that glimmer of hope in their eyes. It was all shown in the security guard’s calm, encouraging demeanor as fans left the stadium:
“Stay tough, don’t panic. We’re going to be all right,” he said.