Here's a photo I took today of the line to get through security at AT&T Park.
They now have a new policy that if you want to bring in liquid beverages into the stadium, it must have the original manufacturers' seal on the bottle. What this means is that you cannot bring in any open bottles (say you are drinking some water while waiting in the long stupid line), and you can't bring in any more of those nice inexpensive ice cold coffee drinks from McDonald's and Starbucks.
Just how lame is security?
Let's see... in this photo, there are only FOUR people screening the main entrance gate at AT&T Park. And there's a huge line forming.
Just how STUPID is security?
In line, I noticed a lady had a half consumed open bottle of water in the bag. The security person would not let her through, and this guy behind me said "it's just water." I said to the guy "yeah, it's just water, you wonder why this policy is bullshit." Then I find later that a kid sneaked in a McDonald's drink, and was sitting about ten feet away from my row.
An anonymous poster in an article by the SF Examiner on the crackdown of teenage drinking at the ballpark states that:
- "I am a security guard for the San Francisco Giants... We definitely could use more staff. Most fans arrive 35 [minutes] before game time. We literally have about 20,000 fans entering per gate with roughly 6 under paid guards checking bags. I could never understand the politics behind this. The San Francisco Giants are ranked the second best customer service and internal shop scores in the MLB league. We are also one of the lowest paid security departments in the MLB. The Giants organizations are very irresponsible..."
The Giants claim in an e-mailed response that I questioned them about their unsealed drink policy:
- "The San Fancisco (YEAH... GREAT TYPO GIANTS REP. I work in a city called "Fancisco") Giants in cooperation with the City of San Francisco, and the San Francisco Police Department are attempting to mitigate underage consumption of alcoholic beverages in AT&T Park on Friday and Saturday nights. Most of the alcohol being smuggled into the ballpark from outside is vodka or grain alcohol in water bottles and rum in plastic Coca Cola bottles. Judging from last night's game and the huge amounts of alcohol we confiscated at the gates, and the large number of underage drinking citations given by undercover alcohol enforcement agents and SFPD inside and outside the ballpark, I believe our efforts were quite successful."
Here's what I think:
- Park management is trying to rake in more money from concessions. Now, you can't buy that meal that comes with a drink at McDonald's, you can't have your nice Starbucks coffee on that cold night at the park, and why don't you just sniff the bottle and determine IT AINT ALCOHOL!
- The Giants management claims in an e-mail reply: "AT&T Park remains one of a minority of Major League ballparks that allow guests to bring in their own food and non-alcoholic beverages." Sorry, I don't believe you. All local Bay Area stadiums permit food and non-alcoholic drinks.
- WTF is this? An airport with TSA agents? The park security used to just look in your bag, and if you don't have a gun, soda can, or a glass bottle, you just go through. They would usually just feel the bag for any glass or cans. And even then, they should just look in the bag for a few seconds and let you pass through. Now it takes like ten seconds. Multiply that by 20,000+ fans, and you'll be ticked.
- It's just a great way to PISS OFF THE FANS. Just how much longer do we have to give up our basic rights to these ballpark assholes? So I have an open bottle, it's no problem, and let me in. What do I have to do, show my Alcoholics Anonymous completion certificate to prove I don't drink?
- I don't have a glass bottle that I can use as a weapon, I don't have a can that can be used as a weapon (really?). Shit, then they'll claim that a plastic bottle can be used as a weapon. Let me melt it with a lighter and make a sharp edge. Somehow folks in prison can sharpen a plastic toothbrush handle into a shiv.
My husband and I took the train to go to the Paul McCartney concert at AT%T park on July 10, 2010. We walked all the way to the Park from the train. I am partially disabled so walking distances is challenging. But, we did the "right" thing and saved the environment and a traffic mess blah blah and took public transportation. ANYWAY, when we got to the Park, we had to go to the rear entrance because we had field seats. Once we walked the perimeter of the Marina side of the park and got to the rear field gate, there was a long line stretching from the gate back to the parking lot for the people who'd drove to the concert. So, we just merged into the line..after all, we'd walked our distance right? Anyway, some MORON bitch starts screaming at us for "taking cuts" (as though she expected us to get in the line she had to stand in because she DROVE to the concert) and she got so hostile that I actually had a moment where I expected her to hit me. She was freaking VIOLENT. It was like she wanted the crowd to kill us for merging into "her" line. Where was security? Over at the fence checking out the boats and their cell phone apps for all I know. No one intervened. It really affected my night. "Security"...what a joke.
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