Last Saturday, something cool and powerful took place in Oakland. Fans of the Oakland A's threw a Fans Fest.
A little background- The Oakland A's have said that they are going to move to Las Vegas and their lease runs out at the Oakland Coliseum after this season. The owner John Fisher and the team president David Kaval over the last couple of years have alienated the Oakland fan base to the point where a lot of long-time fans have given up and stopped going to game. Also, the Oakland management have not marketed the team at all to the Bay Area in the last couple of years. They have not put on a Fan Fest (as most teams do before the season) since 2020. It is a sad deal
For me, it totally sucks. The Oakland A's have been a big part of my life (if you have read this blog at all-you would know) and my kids life. The thing that gets me is the underhanded way that Fisher and Kaval have operated over the last three years. Basically, saying that Oakland and East Bay people are worthless and can not support the team. Being someone who has been both for all of his life, the area can support the team. Yes, you need to market the team and keep the players around but this area has supported baseball for over a 100 years- The A's since 1968 and before Major League Baseball came to the West Coast-The Oakland Oaks in the old PCL before that.
Anyway (sorry all the words), Two groups decided to throw a Fans Fest for the A's (The team did nothing to help). The Oakland 68ers and the Last Dive Bar organized the Fest. They got all the sponsors, the permits and even got some former players (All good guys) to come back. They did an amazing job and over 10,000 A's fans came and had a great time:
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| The Oakland Roots Soccer Club was there |
And there was some A's Memorabilia for sale:
And a lot of anit-John Fisher feelings:
And some former players:
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| Former Outfielder Coco Crisp |
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| Former reliever Grant Balfour |
The Oakland 68ers and The Last Dive Bar did an amazing job and it was a true Fans Fast that was organized by the Fans.
It's like a real-life version of "Major League," where the owner wants to move the team so badly that they're doing everything to destroy the team and its fans. What do they expect you to do, become Giants fans? I lived through a lot of this growing up a White Sox fan: every time I turned around, the team was on its way out of town: Milwaukee, Denver, New Orleans, Seattle, Tampa Bay, now Nashville. This really sucks...
ReplyDeleteThat really does suck! I'm sorry to hear what is going on with the team. The fan fest looked fun but it had to be bittersweet.
ReplyDeleteCrazy to have them move to Vegas!
ReplyDeleteI had box seats for the A's. Well my boyfriend did. I loved supporting them. What a shame.
ReplyDeleteLooks like the real fans party was a huge success. Good for them.
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