Posted by: wifiguy on 05/20/2004 01:11:27
I walked from Van Ness to 24 Willie Mays Plaza — SBC Park, home of The San Francisco Giants — excited that I was about to “complete ‘THE battery’ of all time” (in my not-always-so-humble opinion). Here’s what I mean.
First the pitcher: I watched Nolan Ryan pitch firsthand a few years back, on many occasions at his last stop with The Texas Rangers … even had the opportunity to meet the legend.
Next, the catcher: no one can convince me that Pudge Rodriguez – instrumental in the Marlins’ World Series bling bling – is not the best catcher of all time. He and his rocket throw to first, or any base of his choosing, has revolutionized the position, if not the game. But before Florida, alas he too was a Ranger. Pudge made it worth the trip, even when the Texas team was losing. (Yes, I am still mad at The Rangers for letting Pudge slip through their webbing.)
So, I go from bitter to THE batter: Barry Bonds, baby!
On the way to the game, I walked about as fast as you can while sporting a laptop. I thought I would be able to one day tell my grandchildren that I saw THE battery of all time, albeit in different settings.
But no! I couldn’t believe it. Bonds sat out the game due to back spasms, and his Giants fell at the hands of his former team, Pittsburgh.
But, it was still a great evening. Baseball and Wi-Fi, sitting behind home plate! The Giants’ media relations team game me a couple of tickets and press credentials. The other journalists in the press box seemed pretty friendly. There were about 25 writers and radio guys, lining the windows in my booth. Then there were media suites for TV types, one flight up.
This was interesting. There was even a nice you accountant, from Deloitte & Touche, on deck …. er … on hand, and ready to verify and/or validate any special Barry Bonds moments. She too had struck out in that regard.
Oh, and did I mention that SBC Park is the first 100 percent wireless sports facility in the world!?! Their cloud extends from the front gates to the waters of McCovey Cove … providing Wi-Fi out there where the guys in boats park and pluck Bonds collectibles from the water. (I wonder how fast they can get their valuable catch posted on e-Bay.)
The Wi-Fi service is provided by SBC FreedomLink. Their page pops right up, inviting the users to surf or shop or whatever. The Digital Dugout, developed in concert with Kosmo Studios, offers interactive games and exclusive video.
There are Wi-Fi access points positioned across all four levels of SBC Park, with bandwith to serve 1,800 fans simultaneously – allowing each to stream content. There are four SBC T-1 lines in the bullpen.
And Holy Cow, Harry Carey, the Giants take their Wi-Fi promotion seriously, having officially launched it on opening day in 2003, after nine months of preparation.
So has it helped a less-than-stellar season for the Giants?
Bill Schlough, vice president and CIO of The San Francisco Giants, said, “Wi-Fi falls into the ‘ballpark experience’ category, along with numerous other technological innovations that we have implemented including computers in all 67 suites, scoreboard content, electronic turnstiles and e-ticketing.”
Hmmm … I tossed him (and his department) “a fat one,” right down the middle … Such a team player!
He continued, “While I can’t say for certain that Wi-Fi has brought more fans to the ballpark, I would contend that the exposure that SBC Park has received in local, national and even international media for becoming the first wireless ballpark in professional sports has made more casual fans aware of our ballpark and thereby interested in checking it out.”
Wi-Fi Guy — case in point!
How are the Giants faithful using Wi-Fi?
Schlough said the signs indicate fans are accessing scores, stats and streaming video. (I piped in that they are also communicating with the office, claiming to be in a sales meeting.)
Among the first to jump on the new technology – the sports writers and photographers, although quite a few in the press box appeared still to be hammering out their stories via DSL wired connections.
As for the immediacy and convenience, I couldn’t have put it any better than this:
“On Opening Day, Barry Bonds hit his historic 660th home run at approximately 2:55 p.m. Sports Illustrated’s photo deadline for that week’s issue was 3 p.m.,” Schlough said. “The SI photographer, Brad Mangin, used the Wi-Fi network to transmit a photo of Barry’s home run that was featured on the “Leading Off” page of the April 19th edition of SI (the cover was already occupied by Phil Mickelson after his Masters victory). If it weren’t for Wi-Fi, this wouldn’t have been possible.
Before and after the game, I scouted around with my keychain Wi-Fi sniffer from PCTEL. Actually, I found lots of networks on the long walk down 4th, and then all around the park. Interesting, I found the strongest signals near the ticket purchase windows … hmmm … probably some underlying impulse buy strategy of some sort …
Let’s see, Bonds was on the bench. The Giants took one in the L column and I missed out on some cool history.
Hmmm … I have to remember it is all about the Wi-Fi … no choice but to give SBC Park 5 diamond shaped body piercings on a scale of 7.
