Bay to Breakers spoilsports need to step aside
Thursday, May 20, 2010
OK, we've got some immediate action on the drunken bad behavior at this year's Bay to Breakers. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi is calling for a hearing.
Which he did last year, of course, and amid much huffing and puffing about what might be done, this year's event was worse than ever. Mayor Gavin Newsom wasn't the only one who found the idea of another hearing amusing.
"Every year," Newsom chuckled. "What a broken record. Doing what this year? More nudity? Less? More drinking? Less? More smoking pot? Less?"
The fact is the "race" - and it now bears about as much relationship to an actual footrace as Bike to Work Day does to the Tour de France - is morphing out of control faster than politicians, organizers and the police can keep up.
Sam Singer, spokesman for the organizers, blames Pirates of the Panhandle, who he says are only there for the booze.
"We will propose a ban on alcohol for next year," said Singer.
Great, resurrect an idea that was shot down in 2009. Good luck with that. This year's event had more than 60,000 people roaming the streets, many of whom had only the vaguest connection to the race. The mob is spread out over 7 miles across the city and although the race started at 8 a.m., many of them were still staggering around late in the afternoon. How are you going to keep the alcohol away from them?
Next year is the 100th Bay to Breakers. There's almost no chance that it will be called off. A hiatus for a year is a remote possibility. But mark my words: Unless there are some major changes, the B2B is headed for an epic meltdown.
Stanley Roberts, a video reporter for KRON, does a feature called "People Behaving Badly." (See this year's at sfg.ly/9kyZn2).
"This was the worst I've ever seen it in four years," said Roberts, who snipped some of the most offensive stuff from his video. "They can't control this. It is out of control."
There is nothing wrong with the original concept, a zany, tipsy jog. I ran it six times, and I wouldn't say I was necessarily untipsy at the time, but at least I - and the people around me - made it from one end of the course to the other.
What we need to now do is get rid of the phonies.
"These people had nothing to do with the race," said Muhammad Nuru, deputy director of operations for the city's Department of Public Works, who says his crews picked up 18 tons of trash, 3 tons more than last year. "We had hundreds of people on Hayes (between) Divisadero and Baker streets. That's not even on the race course."
Mirkarimi, whose district includes the Panhandle, says, "Suspending the race is unnecessary. With better/willful management, (the organizers) could improve their financial lot, mitigate the neighborhood distress and make the only race of its kind work."
But the participants aren't buying into the concept. Singer says roughly half of the 60,000 didn't bother to pay an entry fee, money that is used for portable toilets and security. In fact, says Singer, the race hasn't even made money the last three years.
So, it isn't making money, it's soaking the neighborhoods in urine, fewer people are bothering to run, and it is a huge headache for they city.
So what's the point? Shut it down.
Or at least get rid of the posers. If you want to get blind drunk and stagger around a neighborhood, go to North Beach on Saturday night like everybody else.
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