Under Robert Crandall, AA bought AirCal and had built a sizable hub at SJC by the early 1990s. AA couldn't make SJC work, and in the mid-1990s began to pull back. QQ (Reno Air) then came in and started a hub in AA's vacuum. AA bought QQ at the height of the dotcom bubble, so SJC became an AA hub again. SJC-TPE and SJC-CDG were (in)famous AA routes, for the fact that they failed within a few days. AA closed the SJC hub for the second time around 2004. SJC-NRT survived the closure, and continued for a couple more years. "Nerd Bird" lasted longer, but it too went away.

I agree with some previous posts stating that the majority of trips to/from the airport start/end at the home, not the place of work. In that regard, SJC may be in the heart of Silicon Valley, but SFO is the best positioned airport for Silicon Valley (also VC) traffic. Perhaps it takes an objective observer from L.A. to acknowledge that.