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One Good Thing: #BayAreaUnite

Welcome to One Good Thing, a weekly feature where we take stock of the last week in San Jose Sharks hockey and find something that just lifts our spirits. Whether it’s a performance on-ice, or a player’s Instagram post, we’re here to talk about the reasons we love this team. Winning or losing, let’s take the time to bask in these small moments.


The Bay Area, as most major metropolitan areas, is home to several sports teams, including our very own San Jose Sharks. Professional athletes, like us normal people, like to watch other professional athletes. This has lead to some great cross overs between the Bay Area squads. Last week, Tomas Hertl was the the San Francisco 49ers game.

The Sharks and 49ers love goes both ways. On a road trip to play the Washington football franchise (we don’t say their super offensive name) the entire 49ers offensive line wore Sharks jerseys for their flight. During the Sharks’ playoff run this spring, many 49ers including General Manager Jon Lynch, and the entire offensive line opened the door. The linemen also did what offensive linemen do with this gem of a gif.

For Game 7 against the Vegas Golden Knights, 49ers All Pro Tight End George Kittle sat in a seat in a hallway when the Sharks scored their first goal of the five-minute power play and didn’t move until the game was over, fearing to ruin the mojo that the Sharks had going on.

The love isn’t just between the Sharks’ closest neighbors. Both the Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants have been part of the #BayAreaUnite. A slew of current and former Sharks have thrown the first pitch at an A’s game. Forward Evander Kane threw out the first pitch this September at a San Francisco Giants game.

The best part of the #BayAreaUnite is when the visiting player is given a jersey with their number on it, letting us see Timo Meier in a San Jose Earthquakes jersey or Jimmy Garappolo in a Sharks jersey. Why, it even seems like the Sharks and 49ers are sharing a player:

The Sharks have done several promotions that involve cross promotions between the Sharks and several teams. The Golden State Warriors/Sharks jerseys from last season were especially well done.

The cherry on the #BayAreaUnite cake has to be seeing Steph Curry walking into a game wearing the Sharks Stealth jersey.

I think the one thing that can unite all bay area fans is, the famous “Beat LA” chant that occurs at all Bay Area sports events when they are playing a team from Los Angeles. This has become a rallying cry no matter if you wear teal, scarlet and gold, orange and black, or royal blue and has really helped create the #BayAreaUnite.

What is your favorite #BayAreaUnite moment? Let us know in the comments below!

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