…it’s not really about the actual convention which I love but San Diego, the people all crammed in and around, etc. As we walked downtown to go to lunch away from the convention center today it was really trashy. And I don’t mean that the area is normally this way because I’ve been down here more than enough times when it’s not Comic Con time to know it’s actually a great downtown area. Much better than the slimy mudhole that most of San Francisco is.
But during Comic Con it has kinda turned into a weird Mardi Gras. Or the older, cheaper end of the Vegas strip. Where there are tons of people handing out tons of crap, too many people who throw that said crap onto the ground, a carny-like atmosphere with people hustling you for pedi-cab rides, to come into their bar, restaurant, etc, ads on everything and everywhere, people aggressively asking if you will sell them your badge, and way, way, way too many people. And these aren’t all convention goers. Just people who come downtown for the party that has now taken over the entire area and not just the convention center and a hotel or 2.
We walked about 15-20 minutes away and it was much quieter down there. But the closer you got to the convention center, the more obnoxious it became. It totally reminded me of the cheaper end of the Vegas strip. I never go down there anymore because it’s simply so annoying and Vegas can be annoying ion a good day. I stick by the Wynn. Although now that they opened the City Center maybe that will help that end out.
But yeah…it screams tacky. And yucky. Nerdy and geeky I take happily. Tacky, slutty, cheap and yucky – you can keep. And this is another reason I will only ever stay in a hotel right next to the convention center. So I can stay in my little bubble and be happy and unaware in it.
Simply put, San Diego has a beautiful downtown area/Gaslamp District. It just gets taken over for 5 days a year. And again, I am not going to blame the actual Con or the average con attendee. These are different sponsors. Different parties. Different crowd. I blame LA actually….
