Brian Wilson: A Character Study

I'd like to say that the following observation about Brian Wilson has nothing to do with his ability on the field.

I have a love/hate relationship with Brian Wilson, aka The Beard, aka BWeezy. It's probably been a good two to three year, conflicted relationship. When he first came into the organization I dug him. He wasn't the cookie cutter looking baseball player and I liked that. Tat's on his arms, a faux hawk, intense eyes and a bad ass 1, 2, 3 inning - he piqued my interest. Then 2010 came around. I think it started with those orange shoes. It wasn't my thang. I didn't get it and I just thought he was trying to be an attention hog. So I sorta went on my own little private anti-Wilson soap box every time he came up. I just thought he was a show boater and I really wasn't into it because of our little miSFit team. He was drawing attention to himself and I didn't like it. We'd been there done that and I liked that the whole team was gaining recognition, not just one dude.

Then the beard started to grow (literally.) When I saw that thing starting to come in, I was a little offended. Ok, not personally offended because I didn't have a beard, but offended because his beard was getting attention and no one was mentioning Sergio Romo's real black beard. He's the original bearded one and no one noticed. Next came the one liners and weirdo talk. I was skeptical. I wasn't sure, was this a case of someone just doing it for the individual attention or was it because the Giants were under the microscope because of their scrappy, nail biting wins? Hmmmmm....?

The next thing I knew I was getting a video forwarded to me by my work husband that had an interview of Wilson. I believe the title of the interview was "Check this out, Wilson is nuts." It was the now classic video of Wilson being interviewed by Chris Rose and the "Machine" walked in frame during the interview. What the hell was this? What's this guy proving? Is he gay? Is he outwardly saying he's into S&M? Was that Zito in the whole leather getup? I had a lot of questions and not a lot of answers. From this smallish interview, Brian Wilson now had all eyes on him and his eccentric personality.

So, what does a girl do when she's studying the character of Brian Wilson? She gets the call to work an event with him. Ok, so as I have mentioned in a previous UBC blog, I volunteer with the Giants Community Fund and have been for at least the last 6 years give or take. Because of my previous work experience with the Giants and also in my current work life, the Fund has been giving me the job of Celebrity wrangler (which means I'm the bad gal who has to tell kids, adults and the elderly that they can only get one autograph and that there is no time for photographs.......yep, that's me.) Tonight was no different but I didn't know  until I got to the event.

I actually have worked this specific event in the past. About two years ago the Community Fund partnered with the Irish Cultural Center and had an event with Brian Wilson and Giants third base coach Tim Flannery. That year Mr. Wilson had NO beard, was pretty quiet and we were still selling tickets at the door. This year was a 180. When I arrived at the Irish Cultural Center there were two of San Francisco's finest hanging out at the front door and a lot of "who are you" kinda eyes. Yes, it's confirmed, this isn't 2009 anymore.

I was running a little late and ran upstairs quickly and made my way to the registration table to see what my job was for the night. I figured I was working the front door and checking in my Irish comrades as I did back in '09. As I was trying to figure out my job, the woman running the show came up to me, asked my name and then replied "Oh good, you're Erin, you're going to be handling Brian and Tim when they get here.............." this kind of floated up and over my head and I thought she was just kidding....hahahhaha, yeah, I'm going to be wrangling the Beard and Flannery.......yeah, ok, sure. But then came the confirmation in black and white on the night's itinerary, clear as could be: Celebrity Handler: Erin. Wait, what?????

So, that's what I did. Here I was......writing this character study for the past few weeks, trying to think of what the rest of this particular blog was going to be, and here it was right in front of me....tatted up, full beard, beanie, a television crew and lot's of character - GO! We anticipated Wilson and Flannery arriving around the same time so there I was with a Giants employee who regularly wrangles these guys waiting near the parking lot for arrival. Employees of the Irish Cultural Center, a few local newspaper writers and photographers and the Showtime crew were also waiting. Yeah, the Showtime crew was there, never even occurred to me that they would be here....good thing I actually "dressed" up for this. Oy Vey.....is this happening? Um, yes, it is and baton down the hatches Urban Baseball Chick cause you're in it to win it.

A few minutes later he rolls up in his high-end luxury vehicle, driving himself and pulls the old UBC move, pullin' it in backwards to be able to escape quickly after the event. Bright turquoise v-neck t-shirt, big black beard, and a grey loose beanie hanging off the back of his dome, classic. He quickly mic's up for the Showtime folks and then runs over to sign autographs for the fans outside the parking lot yelling to him just wanting to shake his hand, tell him "He's the Man" and getting quick shots of him on their Smartphones to share with their friends on Facebook or Twitter. He runs back over and there we were, briefing him on what was going on and shuffling him up the stairs for his interview with the Chronicle.

Easy part is over, now we gotta get him inside, where there are about 300 Irishmen, women and children anxiously waiting for him. We found the best way to get him in quickly and I tell him where we're going and to follow me. Open the door to the room and boom, it's GO time. Bring him and the lovely Tim Flannery over to their autograph table. Well, little did I know the rest of the room was right behind us ready for their autographs. This wasn't the plan. I look at the two gentlemen and ask if they needed anything from the bar, cause that's what I do. Gotta make sure these guys are taken care of. Run to the bar, get some waters and the chaos starts.

Here come the parade of kids, parents, the elderly with all of their paraphernalia to be signed. Baseballs, jersey's, photo's, iPads, a box of sugar (inside joke that involved the above mentioned "Machine" interview), posters, bottles of "Fear the Beard" wine, scarves and even a forearm. Yes, a forearm, completely attached of course. And here I am, saying no to posed photo's and telling the fans "One item per person, Thank You!" all the while having the Showtime camera in my face and a boom mic hovering over my head. Wilson and Flannery are great with the crowd and the kids. One kid actually asked Wilson if he could touch his beard and Wilson said yes. It was a pretty funny moment cause the kid was freaking out when he was handling Wilson's beard. I was a little weirded out by the request, but Wilson took it in stride. The kid actually shrieked after the awkward episode and his father couldn't have been any prouder. Hysterical.

It was hot and I was so happy that I am not claustrophobic. I had people trying to sneak behind Wilson and Flannery to get a quick pic and in front of the table it was about two to three people deep just snapping photo's. Controlled chaos was what it was and I was in the middle of it trying to regulate. We had agreed earlier that we needed to put a time limit on the autograph session and we were quickly nearing the time for the rest of the event to unfold. We still had a Q&A session with the audience and some music was to be played by Flannery (who is a pretty good musician/singer) and Wilson who plays the harmonica......of course he does.

I ended up being Wilson's assistant....when I say assistant, I mean that I took the items fans were giving him and holding onto them until it was time to get him out of there. Done with autographs we get him on the stage for the rest of the event. I take a load off 'cause my dogs were barking and sit in the back and chat with some new friends. In the meantime, we're figuring out what our strategy is for getting Wilson outta this room without it being a cluster........(fill in the blank.) I look at the time and it's showtime again (no pun intended.) Me and my Giants friend make our way up to the front again to make sure we escort him out the door without too much commotion. The Irish band that was there takes photo's with him as well as gets autographs, the Irish dancers come over to take a group shot with the Closer and then he looks at me and I ask him if it's time to jet.

The Showtime crew takes his mic and we start heading out the door. I hand him the items I was entrusted with, neatly bundled for easy transport and he's off, back down the stairs to a bunch of waiting fans and Smartphones in the parking lot.

So, who is this guy? He's a famous athlete who has a huge beard and piercing blue eyes. He's a version of himself that is making a good living off this guy named Brian Wilson and/or BWeezy. He's a guy who has a wine named after him, a guy who has thousands of t-shirt's with his bearded portrait on them. He's found his niche and he's sticking to it cause it works, but is it the real Brian Patrick Wilson? Nah, cause I saw that guy back in 2009 sans beard and character and he was a pretty "normal" dude. But that doesn't get you national attention or any kind of endorsements or a Showtime crew following you, right?

Cheers to you Mr. Wilson, you're Winning.

With a rally rag on my right shoulder, the Giants are World Series Champions

WOW. My head's a little fuzzy from the champagne my best friend and I popped after the second out at the bottom of the ninth inning. I was hesitant to purchase the bottle of bubbly tonight because as many of you know, it's not that easy. You can't predict the win let alone a hit or even a 5 run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. But the cast of characters, also known as the San Francisco Giants have done it. Maybe not like the pretty boys of the NY Yankees or civilized like the Atlanta Braves, but the only way San Franciscans could - in their own unique San Francisco way.

The start of this season leading up to the All Star break was dismal. But, as a Giant fan, you keep the faith and hope they just finish in the top 3. We focus on the Dodgers coming to AT&T, enjoy the little rivalry with our AL friends accross the Bay, and LOVE, LOVE all the great giveaways the Giants promote throughout the 6 month season; Giant's Snuggie giveaway, bobblehead day or what's better than a Giants singles night!? I know! how 'bout a team that's been absolutely AMAZING to watch throughout 2010.


I'm probably more calm about the win because first of all it hasn't really sunk in. Much like going to game 1 of the World Series series with my mom, where if someone asks' me about it, I get choked up and can't really talk about it. It's really odd being such a fan of one team. You get to know the guys, even if you don't really know them. You see a majority of them for 162 regular season games, not to mention in spring training, then (thank goodness) post season games, and you get used to the every day grind and miss them on their off days. It's hard to explain, but you get attached and if they're not winning, you're not winning. If they are winning, there's no better feeling. But here they are, world champs and representing our city and our Bay Area, the underdogs, in front of a bunch of Red, White and Blue wearing Texas Ranger Fans and not to mention, the oblivious FOX sports analyists. So now that they're the World Champions of 2010, it's kind of like DUH to the rest of the world cause I've been there through the thick and thin of it all leading up to tonight. Unbelievable.



I've always been proud to be a SF Giants fan and to be honest, this year was the first year I got back into the game. It's been hard to watch them since my dad passed away because we watched, discussed, and argued about the Giants for a steady 22 years. When you have a buddy that looks forward to the season as much as you do and don't have them around anymore, it's hard to get excited about it. But this, for some reason, was the season that peaked my interest. Things clicked. Friends clicked. I even turned some people into fans (lucky them.) It was just THE year and I'm so glad I paid attention and that the boys made it fun again.



Tonight's World Series win was poetic. I wasn't in a huge crowd down at Civic Center Plaza or down by the ballpark or even at Yancy's Saloon out in the avenues. I was where I was supposed to be; with my best friend of 23 years, enjoying the game through every out and inning; every hit and pitch and just enjoying one of the best teams in baseball. I realize this year was really about bringing people together and it just so happened that the San Francisco Giants pulled that off - throughout the city, the bay and in my own little baseball life.

So many thanks to you 2010 San Francisco Giants. You will probably be the best Giants team that I rallied for in my lifetime.



GO GIANTS!