San Francisco, CA
Pride Day at the Ballpark – San Francisco Bay Times
By John Chen–
During Pride month, our local Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, the Oakland Athletics (A’s) and the San Francisco Giants, hosted their Pride Day at their respective ballparks in celebration of LGBTQ+ visibility and equality for all marginalized peoples. Since the A’s have a foot out of the Bay Area, I thought it would be sentimental to attend the more likely than not final Pride Day for the last remaining professional sports team based in Oakland. It is very unfortunate and disappointing that, despite all the rich history as an integral part of Oakland, winning pedigree, and tremendous fan support, the A’s organization felt they needed to move to Las Vegas just like the Raiders.
Like many Bay Area baseball fans, I am thankful we will still have the Giants for years to come. So, I did a true daily double (for you Jeopardy! fans) and also partook in the Pride Day across the bridge at Oracle Park. Despite a challenging start to the 2024 season, the Giants are in strong contention for a coveted playoff spot so every game counts. The team needs our unwavering support more than ever!
Over the years, I’ve attended many professional and college baseball, football, and basketball games. In my opinion, there is a certain rarified air beaming with excitement and anticipation the moment we entered the gates on Pride Day. The sky looks clearer and bluer. The smell and sight of hot dogs entice your tastebuds like no other. Everywhere you look, there are signs, billboards, and flags offering and symbolizing positive and supportive messages of love, pride, acceptance, inclusion and equality.
On Pride Day, milling about the stands, the walkways, and the aisles, there is gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight, non-binary, trans, queer, and any and all self-identification proudly sporting a plethora of rainbow colors and expressive patterns. But beyond the differences, there’s us: a collective of human beings cheering together, clutching our pearls together, eating, drinking, and laughing together, cursing together, and most importantly, celebrating together.
Although Pride Day 2024 at the ballpark took place last month, you can always plan ahead for 2025 or partake in the many upcoming themed or special giveaway events celebrating our multi-cultural heritage, catering to our superhero (Marvel) and childhood (Mickey Mouse) obsessions, and honoring true heroes such as those serving in the military, those who protect us (police officers and firefighters), and those who nurture and care for us (teachers and nurses). And just maybe, in a few years, another MLB team will want to call Oakland or even San Jose home. Then, we will once again have two Pride Days at the ballpark.
Oakland A’s Glenn Burke Pride Day
At the entry gate, we received an authentic Oakland A’s Pride Jersey and a rainbow belt fanny pack. Although they were a tad tight and nearly cut off our life-supporting blood flow, the jerseys we received were proudly worn throughout the unfortunate losing effort from the home team. It was a relief to see a handful of fans also nearly popping a few jersey buttons as they breathed out. We are not alone!
The A’s honored and paid tribute to one of their own, Glenn Burke, a former player in the late 70s who was the first professional baseball player to come out, but only after he retired. Burke was famously credited with the invention of the high five with teammate Dusty Baker in 1977 when he was a Los Angeles Dodger. After being traded to the A’s, unfortunately, at the time, the team and its management did little to welcome and support a player who was known to be gay. In fact, the A’s leadership systematically discriminated against Burke until he retired at the young age of 27 due to emotional and psychological stress. One of the most memorable quotes from Burke was, “They can’t ever say now a gay man can’t play in the majors, because I am gay, and I made it.”
Burke continued to compete in different sports as an amateur after his retirement and was a proud member of the San Francisco Gay Softball League (SFGSL) for many years. In 2013, Burke was inducted as one of the first members into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.
After the tribute, the Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus sang harmoniously both the Canadian (because the A’s opponent was the Toronto Blue Jays) and the American
Anthems. Then, it was time to play ball!
San Francisco Giants Pride Day
Upon entering the gate, we received a Giants long-sleeved Pride Hoodie, which was even tighter than the A’s Pride Jersey, if that’s even possible. The mostly rainbow-wearing and supporting crowd of 40,000+ buzzed with excitement in celebrating the city’s tireless trailblazing and championing efforts on LGBTQ+ issues, rights, and equality. We sat with members of SFGSL who were not just invested in the festivities but are also die-hard Giants fans.
Giants Pride Day began with a historical video montage on the Jumbotron of San Francisco and the LGBTQ+ community, followed by representatives of various queer community groups carrying and displaying a giant Giants LGBTQ+ flag on the field honoring the fight for acceptance, inclusion, love, and equality.
Then, in celebrating the 20th year anniversary of the monumental decision by then Mayor Gavin Newsom to issue gay marriage licenses in the City of San Francisco, eight LGBTQ+ couples either renewed their vows or actually got married for the first time next to home plate. The pre-game Pride celebration ended with Jason Brock, an X Factor finalist, belting out the national anthem putting extra emphasis on the word “proudly.” After a standing ovation, it was time to play ball!
We had a great time at both games. Standing tall and proud. Cheering extra loudly and booing with added gusto. And eating way more than we should, stretching the jersey and hoodie to their absolute limits. Although both of the home teams lost on Pride Day, my good friend Abel Reyna summed up the celebrations perfectly: “We lost the games, but won the day!”
John Chen, a UCLA alumnus and an avid sports fan, has competed as well as coached tennis, volleyball, softball, and football teams.
Published on July 11, 2024
I’m going to do something I don’t normally do and drop essentially everything I learned in journalism school in the name of stream-of-consciousness thoughts on the 2025 San Francisco 49ers (still did the full team name, word to Sac State J-School) after their divisional playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks (he did it again).
This 49ers season had no business being fun.
The Nick Bosa injury in Week 3 felt like the end of their Super Bowl hopes. The Fred Warner injury in Week 6 dashed basically everything that was left of any optimism about their chances of doing something this year. It had 2020/2024 vibes, and that was miserable.
But this season, despite a blowout loss to Seattle on Saturday, was not miserable. It was super duper fun (analytics, catch the wave), and it’s easy to forget that matters.
I’m the managing editor here at Niners Wire. I also host a podcast called Candlestick Chronicles. Both are sources of income for me which turned a thing I’ve loved my entire life (the 49ers) into a job. Objectivity becomes a necessity and fandom wanes into something different than the thing that once caused the beginning of the end of a long-term relationship to end because the person thought it would be funny to put on highlights of the 49ers losing the Super Bowl only two days after the game.
However, there’s still part of me that cares deeply about the 49ers. I grew up with my mom as a 49ers season ticket holder. I went to games at Candlestick and at Levi’s Stadium. My first core football memory is watching the Terrell Owens catch against the Green Bay Packers in the 1998 wild card game. I was at Candlestick for the 2011 divisional playoff game against the New Orleans Saints (anotha one), and the next week against the New York Giants (anotha one). I watched the 2012 divisional playoff win over the Green Bay Packers (he’s on fire!) at the San Francisco airport while I waited for my mom and grandfather, who were at the game, to come pick me up. We celebrated in the car the whole way home.
There are so many other memories in the bank that have helped shape me as a sports fan and pushed me to get into the profession I currently hold. They’re part of me, which helps put the 49ers’ loss to the Seahawks on Saturday into perspective.
Sometimes in the crush of the news cycle and trying to provide objective analysis of what’s happening, the fun of football and the reason I love the sport gets lost. This season helped me remember it.
San Francisco had no business being 12-5 and playing for the No. 1 seed in Week 18 of the regular season. They had no business going to the playoffs. They had no business winning a playoff game on the road in Philadelphia. And while a 41-6 loss in Seattle is a, um, suboptimal conclusion to the season, it doesn’t erase the ride.
It doesn’t erase the 49ers’ 3-0 start and Mac Jones’ insane run as the team’s starting quarterback.
It doesn’t erase Christian McCaffrey’s chase for another 1,000-1,000 season or Kendrick Bourne’s back-to-back weeks with 142 receiving yards.
It doesn’t erase Brock Purdy’s game-winning touchdown pass to Jake Tonges in Week 1 at Seattle, or the upset win over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football in Week 5.
Pick a memory from this year. There was so much joy in it despite how sideways things got on the injury front.
The 2025 49ers season ruled, even if it ended with a dreadful performance in a loss to their biggest division rival. Seattle gets to move on. San Francisco doesn’t. But the 2025 49ers and all of their various backups-turned-starters will hold a special place in the deep 49ers memory bank in my head that will forever be neither closed nor locked.
More 49ers: 49ers vs. Seahawks highlights: 49ers blown out in playoff defeat
It’s over at Lumen Field. Not literally, but the Seattle Seahawks lead the San Francisco 49ers 34-6 in the third quarter.
There’s not a lot of analysis to provide. Seattle is dramatically better and it’s showing.
Niners Wire is bringing you live updates, scores and highlights from the game. Follow along.
How to watch 49ers vs. Seahawks
What else would you like us to say? There’s only 9:12 left!
San Francisco only needs 12 Eddy Pineiro field goals to win this one.
The third quarter ended. Only 15 minutes to go. It’s still 34-6, Seattle.
This isn’t a surprising result. The 49ers couldn’t play in a negative game script or else the blowout was going to be in full effect. That’s what we see here with a six-play, 47-yard touchdown drive where the Seahawks faced little resistance from an undermanned, out-of-gas 49ers defense. Kenneth Walker notched his second rushing score of the game to push the lead to four touchdowns.
Purdy tried to find Luke Farrell and threw it behind his tight end who sat down on his route. Ernest Jones stepped in for an easy interception.
More injuries to key offensive players for San Francisco. McCaffrey is dealing with a shoulder stinger, and Tonges has a foot injury he suffered on the first drive in the third quarter. The 1989 49ers offense may not be able to overcome a 21-point third-quarter deficit, much less this banged up version.
Seattle took another 49ers turnover on downs and went 36 yards on eight plays. San Francisco got a sack from CJ West to put the Seahawks in a second-and-long, and eventually a third-and-13. Jason Myers converted a 24-yard field goal to make it 27-6.
Good for West. His development has been a nice story for San Francisco this season. Unfortunately for San Francisco it didn’t come until a first-and-10 inside the red zone.
Yeah, this one is over. San Francisco just doesn’t have the players to compete with Seattle. Christian McCaffrey was on the sideline to start the third quarter, which led to Brian Robinson carries. He’s simply not an effective player particularly against a dominant Seattle defense. He was stuffed on third-and-2, then Brock Purdy was sacked for a huge loss on fourth down giving the Seahawks another short field where they’ll start at the 49ers 35.
It looked like the 49ers were going to get off the field with a stop on a third-and-short, but a holding call on defensive tackle Jordan Elliott extended the Seattle drive. Later on a third-and-10 near midfield, Sam Darnold ripped a throw in to something named Jake Bobo who cooked Darrell Luter Jr. for another first down. They capped the 10-play, 75-yard series with a 7-yard touchdown run by Kenneth Walker. Easy work for the Seahawks.
It looked like the 49ers got a huge third-down conversion with a diving catch by Ricky Pearsall. The officials originally ruled it a catch, but assisted replay ruled the ball hit the ground. San Francisco opted to forego a fourth-and-6, and instead brought out Eddy Pineiro for another field goal. This time he connected from 56 yards out to make it a 17-6 game. Once again it’ll be on the 49ers’ defense to get a stop with 4:32 left in the first half.
San Francisco will need touchdowns eventually, but they got three much-needed points after Seattle’s touchdown to go ahead 17-0. The 49ers used 10 plays to go 43 yards and ended their series with a 40-yard field goal from kicker Eddy Pineiro to make it 17-3. Now it’s up to the 49ers defense to get a stop where they don’t give up points.
San Francisco trails 17-0 thanks to poor kick coverage, some dreadful short-yardage execution, and a turnover. The 49ers were going to struggle to win with one of those things. All three happened in the first 15 minutes. Hard to see the 49ers scoring enough to overcome a 17-point hole.
The 49ers can’t get out of their own way. A turnover on downs led to a field goal, then Jake Tonges’ fumble led to a touchdown thanks in part to a horrendous pass interference penalty on rookie safety Marques Sigle. He was way too early in coverage and hit Rashid Shaheed to give the Seahawks a first-and-goal. Sam Darnold hit Jaxon Smith-Njigba two plays later. It’s 17-0 with 1:50 to go in the first quarter, but this game is over.
The nightmare continues.
This looks a lot like Week 18, save for the Seattle touchdown on the opening kickoff. The Seahawks got a short field to start their first series and went 44 yards on 11 plays with the 49ers defense holding up on a third-and-1 deep in the red zone. Dee Winters flew in to stop Zach Charbonnet for a loss to force the Seahawks into a 31-yard field goal. It’s 10-0, Seahawks.
San Francisco got going a bit offensively to start Saturday’s game and had a third-and-short at the Seattle 41. They were stuffed on their third-and-short, leading to a fourth-and-1 that failed spectacularly as the club tried an option run with Kyle Juszczyk. Seattle’s offense starts its first drive at their own 43.
Nightmare start for the 49ers. Rashid Shaheed went 97 yards on the opening kickoff for a touchdown to put the Seahawks ahead 7-0.
Darnold did not come out for normal warm ups according to reports from Lumen Field, but he wasn’t on the team’s list of inactive players which means he’ll suit up and start for Seattle in their first playoff game of the year.
This is great news for San Francisco. Linebacker Luke Gifford is also officially active which should help the 49ers special teams units. Here’s who won’t suit up Saturday:
- S Ji’Ayir Brown
- RB Isaac Guerendo
- WR Jordan Watkins
- DL Kevin Givens
- DL Robert Beal Jr.
- OT Brandon Parker
- DT Sebastian Valdez
What time does 49ers vs. Seahawks start?
- Date: Saturday, January 17
- Time: 5:00 pm PT
- Where: Lumen Field, Seattle
What TV channel is 49ers vs. Seahawks on today?
- TV: Fox
- Streaming: NFL+
- How to watch online: FuboTV (try it free!)
49ers vs. Seahawks predictions
- The experts lean heavily toward Seattle on Sunday with only eight of our 40 picking San Francisco. This is similar to last week from the standpoint of the 49ers offense needing to piece together enough points to make up for whatever their ailing defense is going to give up. Perhaps we get an inspired performance from that unit and the 49ers again hold Seattle to 13 points, but even if the 49ers improve offensively from their Week 18 loss, it stands to reason the Seahawks will, too. Seahawks 31, 49ers 17
49ers injury updates for divisional game
- LB Fred Warner (ankle), Out
- S Ji’Ayir Brown (hamstring), Out
- WR Ricky Pearsall (knee), Questionable
- LB Dee Winters (knee), Questionable
- LB Luke Gifford (quadricep), Questionable
- WR Jacob Cowing (hamstring), Questionable
49ers schedule 2025
Here is San Francisco’s season schedule and results.
- Sunday, Sept. 7: 49ers 17, Seahawks 13
- Sunday, Sept. 14: 49ers 26, Saints 21
- Sunday, Sept. 21: 49ers 16, Cardinals 15
- Sunday, Sept. 28: Jaguars 26, 49ers 21
- Thursday, Oct. 2: 49ers 26, Rams 23
- Sunday, Oct. 12: Buccaneers 30, 49ers 19
- Sunday, Oct. 19: 49ers 20, Falcons 10
- Sunday, Oct. 26: Texans 26, 49ers 15
- Sunday, Nov. 2: 49ers 34, Giants 24
- Sunday, Nov. 9: Rams 42, 49ers 26
- Sunday, Nov. 16: 49ers 41, Cardinals 22
- Monday, Nov. 24: 49ers 20, Panthers 9
- Sunday, Nov. 30: 49ers 26, Browns 8
- Sunday, Dec. 7: Bye
- Sunday, Dec. 14: 49ers 37, Titans 24
- Monday, Dec. 22: 49ers 48, Colts 27
- Sunday, Dec. 28: 49ers 42, Bears 38
- Sunday, Jan. 4: Seahawks 13, 49ers 3
- Wild Card: 49ers 24, Eagles 19
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Summer 2026 belongs to Jeff Kent.
The San Francisco Giants legend will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, on July 26. However, his ceremonious affairs won’t stop there.
The Giants plan to have a Hall of Fame celebration for Kent on Aug. 29 at Oracle Park when they play the Arizona Diamondbacks. To honor Kent, San Francisco will also retire his No. 21 jersey before the game.
Kent, who spent six seasons in San Francisco, became a member of the Giants Wall of Fame in 2009. His bronze plaque is located along King Street.
The Giants Wall of Fame pays tribute to the organization’s greatest players who have, either, played a minimum of nine seasons for the Giants or played five seasons with at least one All-Star appearance or championship win in San Francisco, according to MLB.com.
Kent had the best years of his 17-year MLB career with the Giants. He was a five-time All-Star, three of his nods coming as a member of the Giants from 1999 to 2001. He was named the 2000 NL MVP.
Kent was a four-time Silver Slugger Award-winner, having won the hitting title with the Giants from 2000 to 2002.
Kent becomes the 14th player to have his number retired by the organization. He joins Christy Mathewson, John McGraw, Bill Terry (3), Mel Ott (4), Carl Hubbell (11), Monte Irvin (20), Will Clark (22), Willie Mays (24), Barry Bonds (25), Juan Marichal (27), Orlando Cepeda (30), Gaylord Perry (36) and Willie McCovey (44).
San Francisco, along with every MLB team, retired the No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson on April 15, 1997.
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