Rename SBC Park!

Welcome to MaysField.org, home to an unofficial effort by a group of ordinary San Franciscans to rename SBC Park.  We're asking the Giants to honor Willie Mays by renaming their stadium Mays Field.  Look for ways to get involved soon!

Comments

[Daniel Ben-Horin]

How we got here (history of the MaysField campaign to date:)

EVERYONE hates the name SBC Park. As a friend of mine with a superb second grade education just put it to me:

And sign me up for the Mays Field Cabal. Anything to keep those
godforsaken Texans from besmirching our fair city with their foul
acronym. SBC Park my ass.

Candlestick was a good name. Pac Bell was a crummy corporate name but at least it sounded like English, or maybe Pac Man. SBC? We're supposed to say, "Let's go down to SBC Park?" For this we fought the cultural revolution? Give me a break.

No but seriously. What's the point of this cabal? We have no standing. SBC bought the name fair and square. The Park was built with private dollars.

I personally don't give a damn. This isn't about passing a law or pushing a ballot proposition. It's about aesthetics--SBC sounds awful. It's about baseball --Willie Mays was a great player and a great Giant. It feels good to say Mays Field. And it's about politics -- in the sense of reminding people that each of us controls what we say; SBC bought the naming rights but they didn't buy our speaking rights, a distinction perhaps worth stressing, particularly these days.

It's quixotic, let's face it. Do you have a problem with that? It might have no greater effect than creating a little Mays Field cult that somehow recognizes each other at the ballpark. That's not so bad. Personally, I think that it would take very very little to get SBC to go, "Ahem, how about we call it Mays Field at SBC Park" and everyone goes home happy.

So designer extraordinaire Annabelle Ison designed our very lovely bumper stickers, a bunch of people chipped in some dough and now about 4,500 of them reside under my desk. By the time the stickers arrived, the season was near over, our expendable energy was invested in warding off the Doggers and the 'Stros and the time was not right. Some of us did offer the stickers around at games and other venues and the take rate was always astounding. People love the idea! (whether they actually stick them on their bumpers is another story, but they love the idea and gobble up the stickers).

So now you're up to date. What next? See next post...

[Daniel Ben-Horin]

What's next? Here's my notion:

1. Someone put up a website/blog, with capability to mail out bumper stickers for a modest contribution, plus the general benefit of letting new converts to the cabal make themselves known and join the party. (2/7 DONE! Thanks, Ed!)

2. Someone(s) make sure the Giants blogs (which are many and pretty cool, by and large) know about the website

3.. Find a restaurant/bar that sees that being the 'local' for the Mays Field as a profound marketing asset. (2/7 Working on this with Connecticut Yankee, Goat Hill, Primo Patio, Brickhouse. Anyone know Hotel Utah folks? Zekes? Others near ballpark (tho doesn't necessarily have to be there)

4. Hold a big party

5. Get coverage

6. Print house signs (bumper stickers, I have sadly learned, demand being affixed to bumpers; who knew)

7. Let nature take its course.

Let's roll.

[Brian]

Are you kidding me? What a great concept, but are you really too cheap to buy the .com for this website....Nothing with any merit can stand on a .org website....good luck with that.

Brian