Today, San Francisco will be at the center of the American sports world from about 1pm (west coast time) onward. First, the 49ers host the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants at Candlestick Park in a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship game. Then, starting about half an hour after that game ends, the Giants host the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at AT&T Park.
Something that outsiders may not understand about Bay Area sports fans is that they are intensely traditional. Not in the way that, say, southern frat bros rock ‘Bama bangs and wear neckties to the football game every Saturday, but more in the sense that they are proud of their pro sports franchises’ history and continuity.