Sports in the Bay Area

(Chris Leuenberger, Switzerland, 1992, Martin Seibold, Germany,1996)

Here is a small guide about sports in the Bay Area. First of all, don't ask for it, find it. The Bay Area provides you with almost everything you can think of, from the big professional sports events like Baseball or Football to all the various occasions you have to keep yourself in shape...(The "California equation" says: 1 Hamburger = 1/2 hour sports).

Let's start out with the sports to watch. The Bay Area has professional teams for every major US. sports. Here's a list:

San Francisco 49ers Candlestick Park Football
San Francisco Giants Candlestick Park Baseball
Oakland Athletics Oakland Coliseum Baseball
Golden State Warriors Oakland Coliseum Basketball
San Jose Sharks Cow Palace Ice Hockey
San Francisco Bay Spartan Stadium, S.J. Soccer

1996 remark: Candlestick Park has been renamed to 3COM park

(at the time of the editing of this sports guide it was not sure if the Giants will be sold to St. Petersburg, FLA. So it is eventually possible that there is no S.F. Baseball team anymore) (the Sharks played at least their 1992-93 season at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. A new downtown San Jose stadium is going to be completed by 1993)

There are also several college football teams:

Stanford Cardinal Stanford Stadium
UCB Golden Bears California Memorial Stadium (the Golden Bears are also called California or Cal; they are the team of the University of California Berkeley)
San Jose State Spartans Spartan Stadium

Seasons:

Football season (NFL and college) is from September to December. Tickets are usually available without problems for college games, but not for the 49ers. Football tickets are moderate for college and expensive for NFL games. Baseball season is from April to October. Watch out, they play every day! The usual schedule will be like this: 4-7 home games, one day rest, 4-7 road games, one day rest. Baseball tickets are usually plenty available and very cheap (from $5 to $15). Watch out for games in the Candlestick Park... Dress as you would in European winter days, it's frrrrrreeezing! Basketball season is from October to June. For information about tickets call the Warriors (although the Eurostudent program is normally in Basketball's off-season). Ice Hockey season is from October to May. Sharks game are sold out, so be lucky. Tickets are expensive, especially when bought on the black market.

Buy sports tickets at Bass Ticket locations, which you will either find in the yellow pages or in Wherehouse shops (CD shops).

Now, let's talk about REAL sport... this will be very incomplete, because there are thousands of things to do, and it's impossible to cover everything. Look at this paper as a startup, something that helps you find something quickly in the first days. Whatever you want to do (Mountain Biking, Swimming, Climbing, Fishing, Golf, etc.) you will find it in the yellow pages.

Here's just a short selection of places that used to be our favorites this summer (1992):

Racquetball

Cupertino Sports Center, 21111 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino, CA 95014Tel : (408) 257-9037

Tennis

Look for public places, they are all over the Bay Area. They may not provide you with lights, but if you play during the day, it's fun & free!

Jogging (Sailing; Surfing)

You'll find sports places everywhere, but especially nice is the Shoreline Park in Mountain View (next to the Shoreline Amphitheater, THE place for big concerts). You also find there a small lake for sailing and surfing (beginner level; call them, they might have courses).

Aerobics and Work Out

Ask at HP's Recreation Center (Sunnyvale site), they have daily classes for cheap rates.

Volleyball, Basketball, Ultimate Frisbee

HP employees play a lot of sports during lunch time. Just go to the Recreation Center and ask for it. As a special tip, if you like action and a hard work out, try Ultimate Frisbee, it's very nice! This section should contain a collection of tips and tricks, after all it looks like if the old guide was a little bit more complete on this details. Never mind. I found one subject.

Golf

It is much chaper than in Europe to play Golf in the United States. Try it. In 1996 we took a beginners lesson (45 min.) for $25 each. It was worth it. After that you're allowed to practise on this court without a teacher. (60 Balls, $5).