Professional Sports in Bay Area

San Francisco is located along the bay on the Pacific Ocean and is ranked the 14th largest city in the United States with mover than 8.3 million residents. San Francisco Bay Area is made up of nine California counties which also border it. The major cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland have hosted major league sports franchises (seven in number).

Sports is a huge part of living in the bay area. There are seven major league sports teams which include basketball, baseball, football and soccer.

College Sports

The Bay Area also has a rich offering of college sports. Indeed they are well represented. There are six NCAA Division I universities. Among these six universities, three of them have a football teams; the California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinals who compete in the Pacific-12 Conference and the San Jose Spartans who take part in the Mountain West Conference. The Cardinals and Golden Bears known to be strong rivals.

The Bay Area is known to be the leading and innovative area for technology with rich opportunities for outdoor sporting and championship level professional sports. In 2013 it hosted the America’s Cup. Activities individuals can take part in include mountain biking, skateboarding, the Alcatraz triathlon, as well as surfing at breaks such as Mavericks, Steamer Lane and Ocean Beach and Bodega Bay.  If you want to try for a triathlon be sure to check out Triathlete Zombies for help!

The Oakland Raiders

This professional sports team plays American football in the National Football League (NFL) at the O.co Coliseum. They are American Football Leagues’s western division. The Oakland Raiders have won won three super bowls (1976 XI, 1980 XV and 1983 XVIII) and lost two (1968 II, 2002 XXXVII). The team was relocated from Oakland to Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 and then returned to Oakland.

The San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are the second NFL football team and play at Levi’s Stadium. They have won five Super Bowls (1981 XVI, 1984 XIX, 1988 XXIII, 1989 XXIV, and 1994 XXIX) and lost once in 2012 XLVII. One of the legendary quarterbacks of the NFL, Joe Montana was a key part of their super bowl success. The name is derived from the historical gold miners who “rushed” California looking for gold in 1849. They are part of the National Football Conference West division.

The San Jose SaberCats

For the years 1995 to 2008 and since 2011, the Bay Area hosted the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League who now play at the SAP Center located in San Jose. The San Jose SaberCats managed to win three Arena Bowls (2002 XVI, 2004 XVIII, 2007 XXI ) but lost once (2008 XXII)

The Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors play in Oakland at the Oracle Arena. The Golden State Warriors originally started out in Philadelphia, but in 1962 they moved to San Francisco. In 1964, the warriors again relocated to Daly City and then later moved to its current home in Oakland in 1971. They have won two NBA championships in 1956 as the Philadelphia Warriors and in 1975.

The San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are located San Francisco. They have played both at AT&T Park and O.co Coliseum. Their future plan is to relocate to San Jose, in California, and by 2017 to move to Cisco Field. The Giants have won seven World Series titles. The 1989 World Series had several names including the “Earthquake Series”, “Bay Bridge Series”, “BART Series” and “Battle of the Bay” because they were playing their neighbor the Oakland Athletics (As). The Athletics managed to overpower the Giants in a 4-game series. The series was marked by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which struck the area during the day of Game 3. In the year 2012, San Francisco was ranked #1 rank among the America’s Best baseball cities.

The Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics are located in Oakland and have won 9 world series championships including the tragic 1989 World Series against the giants in the midst of the Loma Prieta earthquake. The Athletics are known for their manager Billy Bean who founded the concept of “Money Ball” using statistics to find players to select players and build a team.

The San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks play in the National Hockey League (NHL) and are now playing at the SAP Center (known as the Shark Tank) located in San Jose. They have not won a Stanley Cup finals.

The San Jose Earthquake

The San Jose Earthquakes were originally known as the San Jose Clash and were renamed in 1991. They participated in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the first season in 1996 winning the first ever MLS game over the D.C. United. The Quakes played against the Los Angeles Galaxy and won 2-1 for MLS Cup in 2001. They also won the MLS Cup in 2003 against the Chicago Fire 4-2. In 2005, the Quakes relocated to Houston where they became the Houston Dynamo but later returned to the bay area in 2008 and play in Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara…

Rugby / Union League

San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby is a union team which participates in the Rugby Super League. They won the RSL championship in 2009.

Exit mobile version