It's my travel day, so I'll leave you with some general facts about the Emerald Bowl.
Town: San Fransisco
However, it's one of the most expensive cities to live in, and if you're looking to pick up a little extra cash while you're there, setting up a lemonade stand on the street isn't going to be the best idea. San Francisco is also one of the most expensive cities to do business in, believe it or not.
Even though the town can be a bit pricey, their claim to fame is their education. Sticking with the same Forbes ratings we were using above, San Francisco is the #1 city in America in the category of "Education Attainment". They're also #5 in "Advanced degrees". Some San Fransisco area colleges include Cal Berkley, Stanford, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara, and an assortment of others.
Why you should stay home:
On Christmas Day(!) a 300 pound Siberian Tiger named Tatiana escaped her enclosure, killing one man and injuring two others. San Francisco might be one of the best cities for leisure activities, but I don't want to die at the hands of a Siberian Tiger.
Nearby Sports Teams
The 49ers and Raiders are nearby, and during baseball season, the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics call the Bay Area home. San Francisco sports fans have to cross the bay to see NBA action, as the Golden State Warriors are the only team in town, and they play in Oakland. There is professional lacrosse and hockey in San Jose, and as I mentioned earlier, Cal and Stanford are both nearby, as are an assortment of other college campuses. On Friday, the town will be home to the Oregon State Beavers.
Hungry?
San Francisco is one of the best cities for dining as well. Number three on the list, right behind New York and Chicago.
Emerald Bowl officials are expecting a large amount of activity in McCovey Cove on Friday, so we suggest you get their early. You never know when an Alexis Serna shank punt could land out there.
It's not that far... (We love ya, Alexis)
(From Cathy C's flickr photostream)
Internet, Internet, Internet
The San Francisco Giants installed 122 WI-FI access points throughout the stadium, making it one of the largest "internet cafes" in the world. Need to check your e-mail on your laptop during the game, or check your stocks? There you go.
Other Fan Favorites:
The Coke Bottle and the Old-Fashioned baseball glove.
Wind won't be a big factor:
Although San Francisco is known for it's strong winds, AT&T park was designed to block out as much wind as possible. The architects say that the current stadium has 1/2 the wind that Candlestick Park has. Thank you, modern engineering.
Capacity:
40,184 for football. I'm not a big fan of converting baseball stadiums into football stadiums, but what can you do. I'm also not a fan of having both teams benches on one side of the field, but again, what can you do. I imagine the reasoning behind this is that putting a team of players between the field and the low field level baseball seats would cause problems with views, and they would rather move both teams to one sideline and be able to use all the seats they can.
Television: ESPN
If we count the USC game, the Beavers are 2-1 on ESPN networks. We embarrassed ourselves twice and emerged gloriously triumphant once, so I guess that puts us in good shape. The television crew won't include Erin Andrews this time ($%&@!), but even worse, it will be an all male crew consisting of Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman, and Rob Stone.
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I don't waste any opportunities to post pictures of Erin Andrews.
Emerald Bowl History:
Although the Emerald Bowl has a history of boring games, it's claim to fame is the longest drive in the history of college football. My source? Wikepedia, so don't trust it.
From the Free Encyclopedia:
Corporate Sponsor: Emerald Nuts
There's not even a nut in the bowl's logo. As a corporate executive, wouldn't you want to advertise your product?
And it's... between the pillars and inside the cables!
According to my unofficial calculations with Google Map It!, if Alexis Serna stood on the 50 yard line at AT&T Park, he would need to hit a 10,049.6 yard field goal across the town of San Francisco to get the ball to land inside the Golden Gate bridge, just like the picture above.
It could happen.
Do you still need tickets? Get Emerald Bowl Tickets at Stubhub.com.
GO BEAVERS!
--JB--