R.I.P. Oakland A's — Part 3 of 3
The long-awaited conclusion of my bitchy posts about the A's.
Part 3: The future
People ask me: “Will you stay a fan?” and I’m never sure how to answer. I usually just shake my head no. But in truth, I will forever be a fan of the Oakland A’s. I’m not currently a fan of the A’s that play in West Sacramento. I have an extremely hard time thinking I’ll be able to be a fan of the A’s that may or may not play in Las Vegas.
There’s a lot of speculation about whether the Las Vegas deal will actually go through. There’s not the solidest of plans, not enough funding, and even the mayor of LV has rightfully asked, “Why is [this] happening?” I don’t know what will happen. But I doubt the A’s will somehow magically reappear in Oakland.
We’ve lost so much in the last few years. The Raiders, who were never my team but who had a similarly fanatical—and overlapping—fanbase, skipped town a couple of years ago for Vegas, too. The Warriors moved from their longtime home right next door to the Coliseum over to shiny new digs in San Francisco. So now Oakland’s lost the THREE biggest professional sports teams it had. No more MLB, NFL, or NBA in Oakland.
As such, I’m looking for other places to bond with the East Bay community. The Ballers minor league team started playing in Oakland last year, and captured much of the community and spirit that O.G. A’s fans had and needed. The Oakland Roots Soccer Club (which includes the Oakland Soul women’s team) is playing at the Coliseum this year. I went to my first Cal football game last season and had a blast. None of it replaces the A’s experience entirely, but it’s better than sitting around pouting. I’m going to make it my mission to go to as many Ballers games as I can this season (opening night was A BLAST), with a sprinkling of the others as I can.
But I’m going to keep my A’s memorabilia, and with it my many fond A’s memories. I’ve been robbed of a future where I can take my kids, and their kids, to see the only sports team I’ve ever really cared about, but we’ll form new traditions. We’ll look at old pictures from the Coliseum, and take new ones at the other venues that pop up. I, and sports fans in the East Bay, need something to rally around, something to be proud of, and something to look forward to.
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