Celebrate every chance you get

Well, Giants fans sure could get used to this.

Winning two World Series titles in three years is pretty impressive.

After attending my second victory parade in three years, I know I could get used to this.

That said, we probably shouldn’t.

Certainly these Giants are built for the long haul and more championships are possible, but they’re far from guaranteed.

The 2012 team was definitely built to win a championship with an old-school formula of pitching, defense and just enough hitting.

What the Giants got was outstanding pitching over the final seven games of the postseason, top-quality defense and on some nights, a ton of offense. On others, just enough.

All that added up to one big Gangnam Style-dancing, public toilet-climbing, scream-til-your-voice-is-hoarse party in downtown San Francisco on Wednesday.

The vibe was different from the blowout that was the 2010 World Series celebration. There was an air of “we’ve been here before” in the crowd.

In fact, the crowd seemed – just a bit – smaller than the one I braved two years ago with my pal and Tailwind editor Nick DeCicco and my then-18-month-old son.

Some people I talked with before the parade said they weren’t going because they went in 2010.

That’s fine, but at least for myself, I’m not about to take it for granted.

I say celebrate every chance you get, because you really don’t know when the Giants might get back to the Promised Land.

It’s just not that easy to win consistently, especially in the National League.

Only three NL teams have ever repeated – the 1907-08 Cubs, the 1921-22 Giants and the 1975-76 Reds.

That Reds team was also the last NL squad to win two in a three-year span.

Then you look at the Giants. This is a franchise that broke was was then the third longest title drought in baseball at 56 years. Of teams that have won the World Series in their history, only the Indians (64 years) and Cubs (104 years) have gone longer since their last championship.

Another friend joked with me on Facebook that my son had better not get used to the Giants winning like this all the time and told me to make sure he knows what it was like growing up a Giants fan in the 1980s, ’90s and into the early part of this century – I’m 35, so that’s as far back as I go.

I hear it was even worse in the ’70s.

So, son, here’s the thing.

History has not been kind to the Giants and their fans when it comes to the World Series.

They’ve won 20 NL pennants and played in 19 World Series, winning just seven of those and four came before World War II.

To paraphrase the aforementioned friend:

Just between 1987 and 2003 they flamed out in the playoffs six times.

There was an earthquake that interrupted the 1989 World Series. The Giants were eliminated from the playoffs by the Marlins – twice.

Oh, and there was the Game 6 meltdown that cost them a possible championship in 2002.

And don’t even get us started on the year the Giants had the second-best record in baseball and failed to even make the playoffs.

You can ask your grandfather about Willie McCovey’s line drive to Bobby Richardson in the 1962 Series.

So, yeah, celebrate each championship like it’s your last.

Some other thoughts on Wednesday’s celebration:

— It was about as well planned as it could have been – they threw candy at us for Halloween.

— The rally at the end had some great moments (I watched on TV). The best by far was having Tony Bennett singing the Giants’ victory song, “I left my Heart in San Francisco.” At 86 the man can still bring it.

— The Giants-49ers love fest continued with coach Jim Harbaugh driving Giants first baseman Brandon Belt’s car in the parade. Quarterback Alex Smith piloted pitcher Matt Cain’s ride.

Reach Mike Corpos at 427-6979, or mcorpos@dailyrepublic.net. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mcorposdr.