The Athletics Say Goodbye to Oakland in an Emotionally Packed Game
The Athletics played their last-ever home game in Oakland on Thursday, saying farewell to a fan base that deserved better.
Emotions can be a difficult thing to manage. To control and to express. For those of you who took in the final home game at the Oakland Coliseum Wednesday afternoon, I’m sure you know what I am talking about.
Over a year ago the Athletics owner, John Fisher, announced plans to leave Oakland.
Fans had time to go through the emotional process and stages of grieving knowing the team they poured so much into would soon be ripped away. The same fans went through a similar process with the Warriors and Raiders. But hey, at least they had the A’s. Until now.
Fans packed the streets early on Wednesday in order to secure parking for the famous Athletics tailgates. Hugs, tears, confusion, and sadness expressed differently from person to person.
What has been an eerily empty parking lot for most of the season was brought back to life one final time before returning to its dormant state permanently.
That stadium was serenaded with drums and other instruments which were only drowned out by the piercing sound of “SELL THE TEAM” chants. A phrase that often is too loosely thrown around in sports but in this situation is fitting.
Each fan rollercoasting various emotions could be seen as the camera panned across the crowd. Fans felt like family and you could not distinguish who was in a group together or total strangers.
Oakland fans had the place rocking. The energy felt like a playoff game and not a fight toward win no. 70. After the A’s took an early lead the support from the stands gained even more momentum. J.T. Ginn did enough, T.J. McFarland erased base runners, and then JJ Bleday had the biggest moment amongst the two initial A’s.
Listen to that crowd erupt. You cannot tell me baseball does not belong in Oakland!
The passion this city showed today is not an outlier, but rather a representation of what could be the norm if circumstances were different. If, well, John Fisher cared at all. If the top of the organization puts people above paychecks. But we all know that story.
The finality of it all didn’t hit until the seventh inning stretch. Before, the moment was just a celebration, a moment to express your thoughts towards ownership, and a time to take in a ballgame and cheer on the home team. Once that seventh inning stretch hit, the mood changed.
Fans were hugging each other, tears were trickling down, and an offbeat sloppy rendition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame actually represented exactly what Oakland baseball has become. Messy.
With focus fully on soaking on the last moments and cherishing memories, NBC Sports California cut out several commercials to stay with the sights and sounds of Oakland.
Mason Miller entered in the 8th with a one run lead. The flame thrower retired the final batter before Oakland was retired in the bottom of the inning and Miller took the mound in the ninth. With fans on their feet, Miller did what he does best. Struck out two batters and ended the game on a groundout to third. As the camera focused on the closer, his message was clear as he dragged his hand across his chest just under the stitching that read Oakland.
Although the result of the game essentially meant nothing, it also meant everything. A crowd of nearly 47,000 was representing the 430,000 people of Oakland reminding the world that they were not the problem.
To our good friends at The Last Dive Bar and other amazing people who supported this team and community, we feel for you. Although the team is gone, the history and memories that were rooted in Oakland will live on forever.
While it’s hard to truly paint the picture of the Coliseum, one fan’s sign spoke for us all.
“Sometimes there is crying in baseball”
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