The golden age of Bay Area sports

49ers coach Jim Harbaugh made famous the rally cry, “Who’s got it better than us?” and the team would always reply, “NOOOOOBODY.”  

These days, the entire Bay Area can answer coach Harbaugh with the same response when it comes to sports success. Bay Area sports teams are riding  a wave of success, winning and revival rarely seen by one region of the country at the same time.

This extraordinary and surprising success by almost all of our teams of has fans rejuvenated, and hungry for more.

The San Francisco Giants  paved the way for Bay Area sports, winning an improbable two World Series is three years. Both times, the Giants defied the experts and pundits all the way to hoisting the trophy.

The Giants are not done yet either, their shutdown rotation remains intact for at least another year and MVP Buster Posey isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Expect another season of winning from AT&T park.  

Ever since Jim Harbaugh has taken over the 49ers they have enjoyed a record of 27–9-1, reached back to back NFC championships, and were within 5 yards of a Super Bowl.

Harbaugh instilled a swagger that ignited a winner attitude for a team that is still largely composed of players who didn’t enjoy much success before he arrived.

The Niners also have a bright future, they are led by a swashbuckling quarterback by the name of Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick, whose hometown is Turlock, CA, was embraced by fans all around the bay and if all goes well should be the face of the franchise for the next decade.

Optimism also springs from off the field too, the Niners are currently on pace to play their games in a brand new stadium in Santa Clara. This new modern stadium will be a massive upgrade over the deteriorated Candlestick Park.

Bay Area teams are not only winning over fans with victories and first place finishes, they are giving them world class venues to watch the games from. A renaissance of Bay Area stadiums and ballparks  AT&T Park, home of the Giants has been immediately topped the list of finest ballparks in the country when it opened in 12 years ago. It is sold out every night and is a “must see” for visitors and baseball fans from around the world. In recent years both Cal and Stanford have modernized and turned crusty old stadiums into state of the arc facilities for players and fans.

Not to be outdone, the Warriors and Forty Niners will open brand new facilities in the next few years, both massive upgrades to the deteriorated Candlestick Park and Oracle Arena.

Can we expect this success to continue for years to come? History says no. Only a New York, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles have ever seen two major league teams win championships in the same year. Philadelphia had 4 teams in championship games in 1980, with only the Philly’s winning in baseball. San Francisco has seen success like this before with the 49er’s winning the Super Bowl  back to back in ‘89 and ‘90, and between those wins the A’s beat the Giants to win the ‘89 World Series.

The Bay Area is undergoing a period of athletic revival. Never before have our sports teams been this good all at the same time. Sure our parents can go on and on about the Niner glory days, but we are living through a period unmatched in Bay Area history and we should count ourselves lucky.

Sadly not every team is catching the winning wave. The Raiders remain the most dysfunctional team in the NFL, leading in futility and failure. Just this week they announced that they will tarp over ten thousand seats, to make the decrepit stadium look less empty. The Raiders have not had a winning record in ten years and the future is not bright, thankfully less people will be able to see it.