Right now, there's at least one baseball fan in Tampa Bay who's muttering something about how if the San Francisco Giants had moved here back in 1992, we'd be blowing off work tomorrow to go to a World Series parade.
Stop it. Right now.
↵"But it was a done deal! They were supposed to be ours", moans this person, who might very well be a Rays season ticket holder.
↵There are two key factors to consider in response to that assertion:
↵-
↵
- No, it wasn't ↵
- No, they weren't. ↵
All reasonable people realize by now that the charade surrounding that deal, as well as those involving the White Sox, Twins and Mariners (am I forgetting anybody?) was smoke and mirrors, resulting in new ballparks for fans elsewhere and us (eventually, for being good sports) getting a brand new team of our very own.
↵So, muttering fan, wherever you are, congratulate the Giants and their fans on a well-deserved world championship and re-direct your bitterness towards a more worthy target: the fact that Pat Burrell is going to get a ring.