When their teams face off Saturday, Raiders and 49ers fans willcommence to gasp, rejoice, cry and despair, whether they are atCandlestick Park, at home or at one of the Bay Area's sports bars.In the background will be talk about the future and whether fanswill be asked one day to share a two-team stadium. Doubters say redand gold do not -- cannot -- mix with silver and black in onestadium. Others are more optimistic.
Even if they could share a stadium, the question remains: Canthere be a two-team sports bar?
'That sounds like a bad idea,' said Raider fan Adam Nobriga.
His anonymous companion put it more bluntly: 'No. That ain'tgonna happen.'
The two had stopped for a beer at Ricky's Sports Theatre andGrill on Hesperian Boulevard in San Leandro after the Aug. 11preseason opener between the Raiders and the Cardinals.
Ricky's is deep in Raider territory.
Autographed silver-and-black jerseys line the wall and dishes arenamed for Raider greats, such as Freddy Biletnikoff's 'Hall of Fame'Big No. 25 Kielbasa.
And even though 49er fans are seldom as genteel as they like tothink and the Raiders seldom as fearsome as their reputation, mixingthe teams' fans would be like trying to blend oil and water,chardonnay and Jack Daniels.
But the bar's owner, Ricky Ricardo, puts out the welcome mat foreveryone.
'Red and gold is welcome here,' he said gesturing to one ofseveral rooms where two 49er fans -- Miguel Lopez and Clancy Seaver -- sat watching a game on one of the many giant TVs. Lopez, a SanLorenzo resident dressed in a Niners jersey, called Ricky's his homeaway from home. He chose the bar for his going away party beforedeploying to Iraq.
He was, however, of the opinion that a bar could not be sharedbetween rival fans.
'It will be impossible,' said Lopez. There would be too many die-hard fans drinking to keep the peace, he said.
'The one thing we are not is Raider fans,' said Seaver, hisgirlfriend, who wore a 49er jersey under her hoodie printed with'The City.'
Yet she made the argument that convinced Lopez a Niners-Raidersbar would work -- if fans could have their own domain like they doat Ricky's.
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The parking lot in Santa Clara where the 49ers want to build astadium is about 32 miles from the O.co Coliseum. Traveling south onInterstate 880, glass-skinned high rises mingle with squat beigeblocks, marking the boundaries of Silicon Valley. Exit at 82 Northand steer straight past the Santa Clara University campus along theboulevard lined by palm trees, tidy bungalows and grassy green lawnstrimmed just so.
They give way to a sootier landscape near C&J's Sports Bar, whichstands on a corner of El Camino and Lafayette Street. The bar isfour blocks from the 49ers' Santa Clara training camp and a mile orso from the stadium site. It is more tattered than Ricky's or thesports bars in Oakland. But about a dozen TVs line the wallsbroadcasting whatever sporting event is on.
The day I visited in early August, it was dark inside for a 90-degree Monday afternoon. Tom Grady, 60, and Tim Duggan, 54, eachnursed a bottle of Budweiser. They are Santa Clara natives. Grady'sfather retired from the San Jose Mercury News after 42 yearsprinting papers. Both were taking an I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-itattitude to a 49er stadium, mixed with a touch of caution. 'I'm notsaying we're against it,' Duggan said. A stadium would bringbenefits to Santa Clara.
'It's not a well-to-do city, but it's an upper one,' Grady said.
But the men predicted growing pains and conflict with a sharedstadium in the quiet town.
Duggan said he is wary of the problems sports fans would bringwith them 'into our house.'
Especially, he hinted, if the Raiders were invited inside.
Just about then, a man rode a small motorcycle into the bar,disrupting the afternoon tranquillity that had settled in. I hadbeen warned about the traffic on I-880 so I packed up, exchangedwords with two other men whose thigh-sized biceps burst out of theirmuscle T-shirts, and walked back into the sunshine. On my way home,I got stuck behind a Budweiser truck with a logo on the back thatread 'The Raiders. One Nation. One beer.'
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Oakland nearly lost the Raiders to San Jose when the formerowners declared they would 'play in Oakland in 1961 or quit.'Obviously the team stayed in Oakland, but they played two seasons ofhome games in San Francisco at Kezar Stadium and Candlestick Parkbefore they came back to Oakland. So, in a way, the Niners andRaiders already have shared a stadium. At the bar
No matter which team and which city, there is a football sportsbar for you.
Raiders, welcome
to San Francisco: -- Kezar Pub, 770 Stanyan St. -- Gio'sRestaurant, 531 Commercial St. -- The Greens Sports Bar, 2239 PolkSt.-- Knuckles Historical Sports Bar, 555 Northpoint St. -- Yancy'sSaloon,
734 Irving St.
Niners, let me introduce you to the East Bay: -- Ricky's SportsTheatre and Grill, 15028 Hesperian Blvd., San Leandro --Francesco's, 8520 Pardee Drive, Oakland -- George & Walts, 5445College Ave., Oakland -- Grand Oaks Sports Bar, 736 Washington St.,Oakland -- Kingfish Pub and Cafe, 5227 Claremont Ave., Oakland --Monaghan's on the Hill, 2820 Mountain Blvd., Oakland -- PacificCoast Brewing Co., 906 Washington St., Oakland -- The Sports EditionBar at the Hilton, 1 Hegenberger Road, Oakland -- Stadium Pub, 1420Lincoln Ave., Walnut Creek-- Legends and Heroes, 4050 Port ChicagoHighway, Concord
And in case everyone ends up in Santa Clara:-- Beach Shack Bar &Grill, 2911 Meade Avenue-- C&J's Sports Bar, 1550 Lafayette St. --Characters Sports Bar/Marriott Hotel, 2700 Mission College Blvd.--University Chicken Sports Pub, 2565 The Alameda
