The End of an Era

Edition #160. A bit more personal edition.

Today, the A’s begin their final homestand as the Oakland Athletics. What a story… I conducted interviews with fellow fans as well as shared my own perspective. Here is it all.

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The Bay Area and its fans have had a pretty heartbroken year. Let me give you a timeline from December of 2023.

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The Giants lose out on Shohei Ohtani. The 49ers lost in the Super Bowl versus the Kansas City Chiefs. The Warriors lose in the play-in round. The Warriors lost Klay Thompson, a legend for the team. The Giants are having a really bad season. Oh, and the 49ers lost CMC already.

But, I didn’t list one event. One event that devastated millions of people and led to baseball fans hating an owner.

I’ll give you a hint. It’s not the Sharks, 49ers, Warriors, Earthquakes, or the Giants.

It’s the Oakland Athletics.

I’m a Dodgers fan. No question about that. I would never ever show loyalty to any other team. But, in recent weeks, I can’t help but think, how sad it must feel to Oakland Athletics fans based in the Bay Area who go to so many games every year. You’re not going to get good tickets for $15 ever again.

When I first began my sports venture, I went to a basketball game. If you want specifics, it was the Warriors game. It was my birthday and because I loved the sport so much, I went to see a game. I knew absolutely every rule (other than maybe free agency which I developed a love for later in life), never missed one Warriors basketball game, and played the sport quite well. I idolled Stephen Curry. He was my hero. The experience at the Oakland Arena was great too. It was the perfect day (other than that none of the stars played that game. No KD. No Curry. No Thompson. No Draymond. No Looney. They were all injured).

As life went on, I lost my love for playing basketball. I loved watching it. Many people say they regret their sports decisions later on in life, but to this date, I don’t regret it, because it introduced me to something entirely new.

Baseball.

But, even before I went to my first baseball game, I got to go to one more Warriors game, this time in the Chase Center. That was incredibly fun too (but also scary because we were pretty high up).

I started my baseball journey in 2020. From then to mid-2023, the only thing I wanted to do was go to a baseball game. Specifically, a Dodgers game, but any baseball game was fine with me as I knew how expensive it was at Dodgers Stadium.

In September of 2023, we got free tickets for an A’s game with good seats too (huge thing to say for the Oakland Coliseum). I got to have ballpark food for the first time and all such things like that. Because we were at the Oakland Coliseum, I cheered for the A’s. At the end of the game, while trying to get an autograph and stuff (the great thing about the Oakland Coliseum’s netting), I got a broken bat from a player. To this date, I don’t know who that person is, but hey, that’s a souvenir.

The next season began and I got to go to another game. This time a game with the A’s playing the Rockies. This was the best game out of all of them and if you don’t know how it went, you should watch it. It still could be the game of the year.

Seconds, hours, days, weeks, and months went on. Eventually, August arrived and man did that contest with other months to be the best month in my life.

I went to the Dodgers vs A’s game on Saturday, August 3rd. For Fisher, that day was probably the most money he’s made in a month. In fact, that series could be the most he’s made in a year! That’s how many people flocked to watch the Dodgers against the ailing A’s. Still, the A’s put on a good show for all the fans, even with all the Let’s Go Dodgers chants. I wasn’t able to see Mookie, but I got to see a Shohei at-bat right behind home plate (I wasn’t sitting there, but I sure went there every time to see his at-bats.) I saw everyone bat right behind home plate in the 9th inning as they batted through the lineup!

That day was the day I appreciated the Oakland Coliseum the most. I’ve only been involved in America’s pastime for about 4 to almost 5 years now and have only been to 4 A’s games live. But, I’ve experienced and seen enough to say that the A’s will be missed around her, whether 50,000 fans show up or not.

I participated and started “SELL THE TEAM” chants. I also watched the game from basically every angle at the stadium. I mean, John Fisher has to think about all the kids that are going to miss the opportunity to watch a baseball game. I mean, the Giants games are hella expensive! Aside from the kids, all the seniors who have been going to these A’s games are going to experience a lot of heartbreak. Some have had their one seat for every single game.

The A’s were amazing in Oakland. They had lots of winning seasons. That doesn’t even matter though. Neither does a good experience. For a lot of these people, the O.Co is a second home.

But, even if John Fisher’s only moving for the money, if you look in a better way, kids in Nevada will now finally get a baseball team. So many MLB players are born in Nevada, and probably never watched a baseball game as a kid. Who knows? Maybe the MLB prospects in this region will increase?

For now though, #JohnFisherSucks and #SellTheTeam. There is still a chance the A’s might stay in the Coliseum for one more season with recent reports saying that the field in Sacramento will be extremely hot if not replaced immediately.

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I asked a few A’s fans 3 questions.

How do you feel about the A’s moving to Sacramento?

When the A’s move to Sacramento, will you cheer for them?

Do you think the A’s will succeed in Sacramento?

Anonymous #1:

1. I’m very unhappy, they were our local team and now they’re moving to a place just for cash.

2. No, because just like I said for question #1, they betrayed us for cash. There is no way I’m cheering for them.

3. With more funding, they could get better players (even with the core they have, they should definitely go out and spend). I think they’ll do better after a while, but we’re going to be seeing a few more seasons like the current one.

Anonymous #2:

1. Sad because I won’t be able to see them. I’ve been to the Coliseum many times in my life, but now that they’re moving away, everything is changing.

2. Yes because I still really like the players playing on that team and since they’ve been my favorite team for a long time, there’s no way I’m just betraying them…

3. Yes because they have a good core of players like Mason Miller, Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker, and more and they’re already playing really good this season.

Anonymous #3:

1. As a long-time Oakland A’s fan, I’m sad, but think about the world of possibilities that open up for Sacramentans! In normal circumstances, if the owner wasn’t John Fisher, I mean it sucks, but it wouldn’t be that bad. Because it’s this guy who absolutely sucks at what he does, well, it sucks.

2. No. I will not cheer for them. I’m an Oakland A’s fan. I’ve been going to games for as long as I can remember. The only thing I see when I look at the A’s play is the memories I made going to those games. In fact, after they move, I probably won’t watch a baseball game at all. It’s just heartbreak.

3. Yes. I do think the A’s will succeed in Sacramento in the short term. The team has already made some big jumps this year and with the right moves, this team can become atrocious.

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   As for my opinion on all of this, here’s what I say.

1. I’m not a huge A’s fan, but in the past few years with all those moves being put out there, I couldn’t help but root for them. This is an absolutely horrendous move and while it’s giving opportunities to the people of Sacramento, it’s only a 1 hour and 30 min drive from there to the O.Co!

2. I don’t think this question applies to me, but I will cheer for them in Sacramento. They have a great core of players in Oakland and it looks like the winning era has already.

3. Yes, they will succeed. Like I said, they have a great core of players.

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