One of the special joys of living in northern California these past few years has been watching our hometown baseball team, the San Francisco Giants. The team brought on a frenzy of baseball obsession to the Bay area as they went on to win the 2010 World Series – including a wave of Giants panda hat mania!
Anyone who had the privilege of attending a live game will never forget the sea of orange handkerchiefs that dominated the stands as the crowds rose to their feet singing the Journey song Don’t Stop Believing. Along with a passion for our team colors of black and orange came the Panda hat craze celebrating #48, switch hitter Pablo Sandoval.
Our son Jack got a panda hat in August 2010 and didn’t take it off for almost an entire year. Jack’s nickname became Panda. He wore that hat no matter if it was hot or cold. He wore it to school, to church and even to play golf. Sometimes he even slept in it. It was “his thing” and we all shared in his panda loving fun.
The panda hat craze really spread like wildfire. They started in white, soon they were everywhere in orange, and finally they turned up in pink. I hope you will enjoy this little taste of San Francisco baseball culture. For a fashionista like me, it’s been incredibly fun to watch.
By the way, sometimes you can find them pretty cheap in China Town. I’m just sayin…
Ohhh…that’s what the panda hat craze is all about. I had no idea — I’ve just noticed everyone wearing them and been wondering why! LOL
So many other animal hats, too. It’s really pretty wild. It sort of makes me glad to be a grown up! I have so many old pictures of me wearing ridiculous things, but I will never have a picture of me with an animal on my head!
Go giants. That was a really fun year. Well it was torture too!
Yes it was!! The memories will last a lifetime!