ARTICLE ON SAN JOSE GANGS WEARING SHARKS CLOTHES
- Thread starter HEAVYMETALGANGSTER
- Start date
Posted on Thu, Feb. 24, 2005
Season or not, Sharks inspire East Side pride
By David Madrid
The National Hockey League's 2005 season has come to an end before it even had a chance to start because of unresolved contract disputes. The San Jose Sharks will be hanging up their skates.
But in my neighborhood, on the East Side, the Sharks' biggest fans couldn't care less. Most of us have never been to a Sharks game, much less put on a pair of skates. For us, the Sharks are about city pride, not sport.
At a game, the stands and players are predominantly white, but once you hit the streets, you would think that all the season-ticket holders were young people of color. It's a common sight on the East Side and downtown to see homies all G'd up in San Jose Sharks gear -- sweaters, hats, jerseys -- representing the ``Sharksteros'' to the fullest.
No ice rinks
My neighborhood has plenty of taquerias and 99-cent stores, but no ice rinks, and probably only a few actual hockey fans. I don't think any of my friends who get fitted in Sharks gear could name a player. To us, the Sharks are not athletes so much as symbols of ourselves, representing a place, and therefore an identity.
This is no different from what happens in any other city in America. People who don't come from money embrace regional identity and anything that can signify home. Many of us don't have much to claim except our family, friends and place of birth. And because of economic pressures, many have little chance of leaving our home. So if we don't love where we're from, what do we got?
For the homeboys, it's quite compelling to have our town represented by a stealthy predator of the deep such as the shark. There is even a well-known rap group in San Jose called the ``Killa Sharks,'' and local rappers often refer to the streets of San Jo as ``shark-infested waters.''
The funny thing is, in San Jose, the shark has become a symbol of city unity rather than of violence. Most high schools in San Jose have banned the wearing of sports team logos, because they have been deemed ``gang related.'' But those associations have faded. Sharks paraphernalia was once strongly affiliated with the Norteño street gangs of San Jose, but over time city identification has trumped gang identity. Norteños and Sureños, Crips and Bloods, now all rep the ``Shark City.'' They're not likely to run into each other at a Sharks game, but the Sharks have become something that joins them all together in common city pride.
It's not just the gangsters that have this pride. There are a lot of homies, like myself, with no affiliation who rep just the same. Getting ready to go out, especially out of town, I often find myself sporting a Sharks hat. Clothes represent who you are, and the Sharks represent where I'm from -- San Jo.
City pride
Even before the Sharks came to town, city pride mattered to people like me growing up on the East Side. Youngsters were -- and still are -- tagging ``San Jo'' on notebooks and tattooing it on arms and necks.
Expression of city loyalty is about class as much as it is about geography. You don't see a lot of Sharks hats or San Jo tats in the wealthier parts of the city. As a youngster, I can remember having a conversation with a white kid from the other side of town, who questioned the tattoo I had. Why would I put ``East Side San Jo'' on my arm? The answer I gave him -- ``Because that's where I'm from'' -- made perfect sense to me, but not to him.
Maybe that's why it also makes perfect sense to me that the Sharks will continue to reign on the East Side regardless of whether they hit the ice this year. Our love for the Sharks, and the pride it represents, goes deeper than the game.
DAVID MADRID, 26, is a writer for www.siliconvalleydebug.com, a voice of young workers, writers and artists in Silicon Valley. He wrote this article for Pacific News Service.
Season or not, Sharks inspire East Side pride
By David Madrid
The National Hockey League's 2005 season has come to an end before it even had a chance to start because of unresolved contract disputes. The San Jose Sharks will be hanging up their skates.
But in my neighborhood, on the East Side, the Sharks' biggest fans couldn't care less. Most of us have never been to a Sharks game, much less put on a pair of skates. For us, the Sharks are about city pride, not sport.
At a game, the stands and players are predominantly white, but once you hit the streets, you would think that all the season-ticket holders were young people of color. It's a common sight on the East Side and downtown to see homies all G'd up in San Jose Sharks gear -- sweaters, hats, jerseys -- representing the ``Sharksteros'' to the fullest.
No ice rinks
My neighborhood has plenty of taquerias and 99-cent stores, but no ice rinks, and probably only a few actual hockey fans. I don't think any of my friends who get fitted in Sharks gear could name a player. To us, the Sharks are not athletes so much as symbols of ourselves, representing a place, and therefore an identity.
This is no different from what happens in any other city in America. People who don't come from money embrace regional identity and anything that can signify home. Many of us don't have much to claim except our family, friends and place of birth. And because of economic pressures, many have little chance of leaving our home. So if we don't love where we're from, what do we got?
For the homeboys, it's quite compelling to have our town represented by a stealthy predator of the deep such as the shark. There is even a well-known rap group in San Jose called the ``Killa Sharks,'' and local rappers often refer to the streets of San Jo as ``shark-infested waters.''
The funny thing is, in San Jose, the shark has become a symbol of city unity rather than of violence. Most high schools in San Jose have banned the wearing of sports team logos, because they have been deemed ``gang related.'' But those associations have faded. Sharks paraphernalia was once strongly affiliated with the Norteño street gangs of San Jose, but over time city identification has trumped gang identity. Norteños and Sureños, Crips and Bloods, now all rep the ``Shark City.'' They're not likely to run into each other at a Sharks game, but the Sharks have become something that joins them all together in common city pride.
It's not just the gangsters that have this pride. There are a lot of homies, like myself, with no affiliation who rep just the same. Getting ready to go out, especially out of town, I often find myself sporting a Sharks hat. Clothes represent who you are, and the Sharks represent where I'm from -- San Jo.
City pride
Even before the Sharks came to town, city pride mattered to people like me growing up on the East Side. Youngsters were -- and still are -- tagging ``San Jo'' on notebooks and tattooing it on arms and necks.
Expression of city loyalty is about class as much as it is about geography. You don't see a lot of Sharks hats or San Jo tats in the wealthier parts of the city. As a youngster, I can remember having a conversation with a white kid from the other side of town, who questioned the tattoo I had. Why would I put ``East Side San Jo'' on my arm? The answer I gave him -- ``Because that's where I'm from'' -- made perfect sense to me, but not to him.
Maybe that's why it also makes perfect sense to me that the Sharks will continue to reign on the East Side regardless of whether they hit the ice this year. Our love for the Sharks, and the pride it represents, goes deeper than the game.
DAVID MADRID, 26, is a writer for www.siliconvalleydebug.com, a voice of young workers, writers and artists in Silicon Valley. He wrote this article for Pacific News Service.
Season or not, Sharks inspire East Side pride
By David Madrid
The National Hockey League's 2005 season has come to an end before it even had a chance to start because of unresolved contract disputes. The San Jose Sharks will be hanging up their skates.
But in my neighborhood, on the East Side, the Sharks' biggest fans couldn't care less. Most of us have never been to a Sharks game, much less put on a pair of skates. For us, the Sharks are about city pride, not sport.
At a game, the stands and players are predominantly white, but once you hit the streets, you would think that all the season-ticket holders were young people of color. It's a common sight on the East Side and downtown to see homies all G'd up in San Jose Sharks gear -- sweaters, hats, jerseys -- representing the ``Sharksteros'' to the fullest.
No ice rinks
My neighborhood has plenty of taquerias and 99-cent stores, but no ice rinks, and probably only a few actual hockey fans. I don't think any of my friends who get fitted in Sharks gear could name a player. To us, the Sharks are not athletes so much as symbols of ourselves, representing a place, and therefore an identity.
This is no different from what happens in any other city in America. People who don't come from money embrace regional identity and anything that can signify home. Many of us don't have much to claim except our family, friends and place of birth. And because of economic pressures, many have little chance of leaving our home. So if we don't love where we're from, what do we got?
For the homeboys, it's quite compelling to have our town represented by a stealthy predator of the deep such as the shark. There is even a well-known rap group in San Jose called the ``Killa Sharks,'' and local rappers often refer to the streets of San Jo as ``shark-infested waters.''
The funny thing is, in San Jose, the shark has become a symbol of city unity rather than of violence. Most high schools in San Jose have banned the wearing of sports team logos, because they have been deemed ``gang related.'' But those associations have faded. Sharks paraphernalia was once strongly affiliated with the Norteño street gangs of San Jose, but over time city identification has trumped gang identity. Norteños and Sureños, Crips and Bloods, now all rep the ``Shark City.'' They're not likely to run into each other at a Sharks game, but the Sharks have become something that joins them all together in common city pride.
It's not just the gangsters that have this pride. There are a lot of homies, like myself, with no affiliation who rep just the same. Getting ready to go out, especially out of town, I often find myself sporting a Sharks hat. Clothes represent who you are, and the Sharks represent where I'm from -- San Jo.
City pride
Even before the Sharks came to town, city pride mattered to people like me growing up on the East Side. Youngsters were -- and still are -- tagging ``San Jo'' on notebooks and tattooing it on arms and necks.
Expression of city loyalty is about class as much as it is about geography. You don't see a lot of Sharks hats or San Jo tats in the wealthier parts of the city. As a youngster, I can remember having a conversation with a white kid from the other side of town, who questioned the tattoo I had. Why would I put ``East Side San Jo'' on my arm? The answer I gave him -- ``Because that's where I'm from'' -- made perfect sense to me, but not to him.
Maybe that's why it also makes perfect sense to me that the Sharks will continue to reign on the East Side regardless of whether they hit the ice this year. Our love for the Sharks, and the pride it represents, goes deeper than the game.
DAVID MADRID, 26, is a writer for www.siliconvalleydebug.com, a voice of young workers, writers and artists in Silicon Valley. He wrote this article for Pacific News Service.
By David Madrid
The National Hockey League's 2005 season has come to an end before it even had a chance to start because of unresolved contract disputes. The San Jose Sharks will be hanging up their skates.
But in my neighborhood, on the East Side, the Sharks' biggest fans couldn't care less. Most of us have never been to a Sharks game, much less put on a pair of skates. For us, the Sharks are about city pride, not sport.
At a game, the stands and players are predominantly white, but once you hit the streets, you would think that all the season-ticket holders were young people of color. It's a common sight on the East Side and downtown to see homies all G'd up in San Jose Sharks gear -- sweaters, hats, jerseys -- representing the ``Sharksteros'' to the fullest.
No ice rinks
My neighborhood has plenty of taquerias and 99-cent stores, but no ice rinks, and probably only a few actual hockey fans. I don't think any of my friends who get fitted in Sharks gear could name a player. To us, the Sharks are not athletes so much as symbols of ourselves, representing a place, and therefore an identity.
This is no different from what happens in any other city in America. People who don't come from money embrace regional identity and anything that can signify home. Many of us don't have much to claim except our family, friends and place of birth. And because of economic pressures, many have little chance of leaving our home. So if we don't love where we're from, what do we got?
For the homeboys, it's quite compelling to have our town represented by a stealthy predator of the deep such as the shark. There is even a well-known rap group in San Jose called the ``Killa Sharks,'' and local rappers often refer to the streets of San Jo as ``shark-infested waters.''
The funny thing is, in San Jose, the shark has become a symbol of city unity rather than of violence. Most high schools in San Jose have banned the wearing of sports team logos, because they have been deemed ``gang related.'' But those associations have faded. Sharks paraphernalia was once strongly affiliated with the Norteño street gangs of San Jose, but over time city identification has trumped gang identity. Norteños and Sureños, Crips and Bloods, now all rep the ``Shark City.'' They're not likely to run into each other at a Sharks game, but the Sharks have become something that joins them all together in common city pride.
It's not just the gangsters that have this pride. There are a lot of homies, like myself, with no affiliation who rep just the same. Getting ready to go out, especially out of town, I often find myself sporting a Sharks hat. Clothes represent who you are, and the Sharks represent where I'm from -- San Jo.
City pride
Even before the Sharks came to town, city pride mattered to people like me growing up on the East Side. Youngsters were -- and still are -- tagging ``San Jo'' on notebooks and tattooing it on arms and necks.
Expression of city loyalty is about class as much as it is about geography. You don't see a lot of Sharks hats or San Jo tats in the wealthier parts of the city. As a youngster, I can remember having a conversation with a white kid from the other side of town, who questioned the tattoo I had. Why would I put ``East Side San Jo'' on my arm? The answer I gave him -- ``Because that's where I'm from'' -- made perfect sense to me, but not to him.
Maybe that's why it also makes perfect sense to me that the Sharks will continue to reign on the East Side regardless of whether they hit the ice this year. Our love for the Sharks, and the pride it represents, goes deeper than the game.
DAVID MADRID, 26, is a writer for www.siliconvalleydebug.com, a voice of young workers, writers and artists in Silicon Valley. He wrote this article for Pacific News Service.
Dont mix me up in the whole banging thing I dont just askin a question?
Like here in Fresno area, I went to Fresno state all my family if they bang are nortenos. But I never wore the bulldog clothes for anything cause round here it means one thing if you have brown skin, shit there a grip of white bulldogs in north fresno. but anyways the clothing is banne in schools, certain events, and if you were it your getting pulled over in certain areas of fresno. But round here it is city pride to but for the most part most people like me wont wear it cause it is known you are a dog if you wear it, just a political decision not to, and some of surs wear the bulldog too, for a minute they were calling themselves bluedogs, not lie, but quickly died cause of prison politics.
Like here in Fresno area, I went to Fresno state all my family if they bang are nortenos. But I never wore the bulldog clothes for anything cause round here it means one thing if you have brown skin, shit there a grip of white bulldogs in north fresno. but anyways the clothing is banne in schools, certain events, and if you were it your getting pulled over in certain areas of fresno. But round here it is city pride to but for the most part most people like me wont wear it cause it is known you are a dog if you wear it, just a political decision not to, and some of surs wear the bulldog too, for a minute they were calling themselves bluedogs, not lie, but quickly died cause of prison politics.
SHIT I KNOW THESE BITCH ASS TRAMPAS ARE GONNA DIE TOO IF I SEE N E ONE OF EM SPORTIN N E SHARK GEAR....I'LL STICK EM A EXTRA 4 TIMES JUST FOR THAT.....NOT TO LONG AGO I WAS IN THE GREAT MALL IN MILPITAS AN SMASHED ON A SCRAPA THAT HAD A FUCKIN BLUE SAN JO HAT ON....MY LADY SEEN EM FIRST WHEN I WAS IN A TIENDA....I HEARD HER YELLIN AT EM 4 HIM TO TAKE THAT SHIT OFF.....HE DID OF COURSE WHEN HE SAW ME COMIN....BUT HE STILL GOT HIS ASS BEAT 4 IT N E WAYZ....SOME OF MY LIL HOMIES ARE HITTIN ME UP ABOUT SCRAPAS THEY BEEN HEARIN CLAIMIN THE SHARK TOWN N SHIT....O'BOY....LET ME CATCH 1 OF THEM MUTHA FUCKAS.....THE NEXT THREAD WILL BE "RHINO SENTENCED TO LIFE 4 MURDER". ::
....RESPECTO
....RESPECTO
Hopefully carnal will never have to see a thread with having to read about you gettin a life sentence,especially on some young leva scrapa claimin something he knows nothing about,but if you do catch one slippin atleast make it one of their older homies when the older ones fall the younger weak minded scrapas will fall .
thats a funny thing to say because i remember when cops and task force would stop us in san jose or any other city they'd say oh so your a nebraska or unlv fan name some players and they feel stupid because i could name players and that i worked in nebraska in 2000 for the big red store at the cornhuskers staduim.