City Hall Meeting 'Torture' For Giants-Loving Supe
The Board of Supervisors held their least productive meeting in recent history Tuesday, with Supervisor Sean Elsbernd -- the West of Twin Peaks representative known for his fiscal conservatism and no-nonsense manner -- absent from his seat for nearly the entire proceedings.
Where was Elsbernd?
In the board's backroom private chamber, in front of a television, watching baseball.
Whatever cosmic forces that rule Major League Baseball start times chose to mess with Elsbernd on Tuesday, scheduling Game 3 of the NLCS between the San Francisco native's beloved Gigantes and the Philadelphia Phillies for Tuesday afternoon, when the board meets.
No problem: Elsbernd donned an orange tie and a Croix de Candlestick pin (asked which game it came from, he responded "I've got tons of them, I have no idea. I have a dozen. When I was kid, I went all the time, especially at Candlestick, when they were crappy. I'd buy the bleacher seats, and it was so empty, I'd go and sit in the boxes") and paced, pouted, and otherwise anguished for two hours in a style familiar to any long-suffering fan of sport before eventually celebrating -- in a controlled manner -- when Giants closer Brian Wilson finished out the hometown team's 3-0 victory for a 2-1 series lead.
If Elsbernd experienced a post-adrenaline letdown he kept it in check, collecting his faculties in time to remove a nonbinding resolution condemning the FBI's Sept. 24 raids on trade union offices from the board's imperative agenda in order to vote against it. Performs even under pressure, that one.
Does the pressure compare to 1989 (when the Athletics swept the Giants) or 2002 (when the Angels pulled out a heartwrenching series win over the Barry Bonds-Benito Santiago-Robb Nen Giants?) No one will ever know. "I've blocked out 2002 entirely," Elsbernd said. Was this meeting torture? Elsbernd smiled. "Watching Brian Wilson pitching the ninth inning, and listening to Chris Daly? I don't know which is worse."
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In the board's backroom private chamber, in front of a television, watching baseball.
No problem: Elsbernd donned an orange tie and a Croix de Candlestick pin (asked which game it came from, he responded "I've got tons of them, I have no idea. I have a dozen. When I was kid, I went all the time, especially at Candlestick, when they were crappy. I'd buy the bleacher seats, and it was so empty, I'd go and sit in the boxes") and paced, pouted, and otherwise anguished for two hours in a style familiar to any long-suffering fan of sport before eventually celebrating -- in a controlled manner -- when Giants closer Brian Wilson finished out the hometown team's 3-0 victory for a 2-1 series lead.
If Elsbernd experienced a post-adrenaline letdown he kept it in check, collecting his faculties in time to remove a nonbinding resolution condemning the FBI's Sept. 24 raids on trade union offices from the board's imperative agenda in order to vote against it. Performs even under pressure, that one.
Does the pressure compare to 1989 (when the Athletics swept the Giants) or 2002 (when the Angels pulled out a heartwrenching series win over the Barry Bonds-Benito Santiago-Robb Nen Giants?) No one will ever know. "I've blocked out 2002 entirely," Elsbernd said. Was this meeting torture? Elsbernd smiled. "Watching Brian Wilson pitching the ninth inning, and listening to Chris Daly? I don't know which is worse."
Follow us on Twitter at @TheSnitchSF and @SFWeekly
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