Bryan Stow is watching another magical Giants run he may not remember.
The lifelong Giants fan is in a daily health battle after he was the victim of a heinous parking lot beating in 2011 by two Dodgers fans that left him in a coma. USA Today’s Martin Rogers watched Game 4 with Stow and describes a sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes encouraging scene from Stow’s home in Capitola, Calif.
“I know they won it,” the 45-year-old Stow told the paper of the team’s two championships in 2010 and ‘12.
“But I don’t really remember it. I want to see it happen again.”
The Giants took a step closer to that goal by clinching the NLCS over the Cardinals in dramatic fashion Thursday night to advance to the World Series. It’s another unlikely run for a team that’s 15-2 in its past 17 postseason games.
“The way they never give up,” Stow said. “I love that. Loooove it. It is really real for them and for me. I love these guys. I feel connected. They make me feel like part of the team.”
Stow’s unprovoked attackers, Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood, recently were sentenced to eight and four years in prison, respectively. The beating left Stow, a divorced paramedic and father of two, a shell of the man he once was.
Stow lives in his parents’ home and is looked after by his parents, Dave and Ann, and sisters Erin and Bonnie, as well as professional caregivers.
“There are holes in his memory,” his mother said. “Some things he remembers, some things he needs reminding of, some things he knows happened because he has been told about them.”
He won an $18 million settlement when the Dodgers were found liable for not providing proper security in the parking lot. Legal complications have held up payment.
“Bryan has made progress to a certain point because he is a fighter,” one of his attorneys, Tom Girardi, told the paper.
“But his mind and body are never going to be the same again. That is what was taken away from him.”