A Monday Morning Walk

Because it was such a beautiful morning, I decided to walk from the train station to work today.

As I strolled through downtown San Jose, I tried to spot any evidence of this weekend's huge Cinco de Mayo celebration, but found nothing more than the usual amount of litter on the streets. I also kept an eye out for any stragglers, but only spotted one vehicle cruising up and down Santa Clara Street with a Mexican flag attached to its antenna.

Okay, that's unfair. The guy might not have been cruising. He could have been lost. Just because he was slowly driving up and down the street with his windows rolled down and his stereo blaring Mariachi music doesn't mean I should jump to conclusions.

Along my walk I noticed the San Jose Sharks banners hanging from the light poles. Each one displays a different player and a white street sign that reads, "This is Sharks Territory".

The hockey buzz in San Jose is stronger than usual these days as the Sharks progress towards the Stanley Cup. Based on overheard conversations, people actually know who Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo are, which is strange. The town also seems more teal than usual.

Downtown businesses that were hit hard by the hockey strike must be stoked. I'm sure revenue is up. San Pedro Square, the home of some of San Jose's finer downtown restaurants and bars, has been transformed into Sharks Square. The sign over the arched entrance to the square now says "San Jose Sharks" in big, teal lettering. Behind the sign, the names and jersey numbers of team members hang high above San Pedro Street from wires stretched between the trees.

The Sharks reached the second round of the playoffs last week by beating the Calgary Flames. Yesterday, they took Game 1 of the series from the Edmonton Oilers by a score of 2-1. Since I doubt I'll be able to buy reasonably priced tickets, I hope one of the local networks will broadcast a Sharks game on television.