I went to a protest the other day and a baseball game broke out. A veritable demonstration. No, it wasn’t the players this time. Nor the umpires. And there was absolutely nothing political about it. That’s right. No politics. And I didn’t know any of these people. Not a soul. Yet here we were. Bonded together by a call-out on Twitter by some dude from Vacaville, we came from all over northern California and were now flocking to the Oakland Coliseum for the same reason. A reverse boycott. Instead of staying away, we’re all going to show-up instead . And this was no small demonstration either. No siree. How’s about 28,000 protesters. And non-violent to boot. It was both the strangest and possibly the most fun I have ever had at a Major League Baseball game. Let me explain.
It all started because Fisher, a blue blood rich kid who’s family made their fortune with The Gap clothing store, decided to move the team to Las Vegas rather than pony up some of his own money and build a nice new stadium near Jack London Square. He wants taxpayers to build it and if Oakland won’t play in his sandbox he’ll take his ball and go . Former A’s owner Charlie O. Finley once had a jackass for a mascot. The current A’s owner has become one.
Now he just needs a way to justify the move. Here’s an idea. Billy Ball on steroids. Let’s trade all our talent, cut payroll, field a team so bad that no one wants to pay to see them play. Kids don’t even want their baseball cards. Can it get any worse? Why sure. He’d keep them in the same venue that for decades tops the list as the worst stadium in all of baseball. Cue up John Cougar Mellencamp’s “Crumblin’ Down.”
Fisher’s scheme was working to perfection. The fans were staying away in droves. It was hard enough to get good attendance figures in Oakland even when they had good teams, but this group? By God they started the season with a Charlie Brown record of 15 wins and 50 losses. That is not a misprint. They were making the ‘62 Mets (the worst team in baseball history) look more like the ‘61 Yankees (one of the best). A typical weeknight game in Oakland was drawing maybe 1,500 people. It got so bad that the players could actually overhear loud conversations in the stands. Really?!?
So here we were. Thousands of kelly green shirts emblazoned with the large white letters SELL across the chest were handed out free in the parking lot. It was a party atmosphere to be sure. A’s games have always been like this though. The crowd noise on the radio at an exciting moment in an A’s game sounds like the audience is full of happy people, like maybe the studio bleachers on the old Bozo the Clown TV show. Lots of kids. Conversely the crowd noise at old Candlestick Park on the radio sounded more like a drunken frat party at a boxing match. Loud and dangerous. And so it was last Tuesday night. Despite the fact that anger had drawn us in, there was a collective sadness and common kinship that made us all feel safe. We were there for one reason. You can take the A’s out of Oakland but you’ll never take Oakland out of the A’s. We are here to show the owner that we will not go quietly into the night.
Except in the 5th inning.
The game itself was a good one, with a scoreless tie going in to the top of the 5th inning. As the A’s took the field everyone stood in silence. Though no scoreboard prompt had made any kind of announcement, all 28,000 stood up and did not say a thing as play began that inning. It was the strangest moment to be part of. Complete silence. Not even a vendor yelling “ Beer here!” Can you imagine? You could hear the players chatter out on the diamond. And then it happened. Slowly, methodically, gradually increasing in volume with every chant. Again, with no prompting or bullhorn, the crowd began chanting “ Sell the team! Sell the team! Sell the team!” It got so loud that the homeplate umpire stopped play and went to the mound. And then it got even louder. The players in the Rays dug-out looked awestruck. An incredible moment to be part of. And where was John Fisher during all this? Surely he must be paying attention somewhere. Get this. He was having a luxurious dinner with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, who also has done nothing to stop this embarrassing moment in baseball history. Oh the irony.
Then something wonderful happened. Tampa Bay had taken a 1-0 lead late in the game. But to the delight of the fans, the A’s came back. Suddenly baseball was more important than the protest. The crowd got loud. The A’s tied it up 1-1 and then in a thrilling finish, scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th inning. The Coliseum was rocking like it was Day on the Green with Lynyrd Skynyrd! Closer Trevor May retired the Rays in the 9th and the night exploded in cheers. A’s win 2-1 to end an epic night in Oakland baseball history.
Did it do any good? Well that depends. Demonstrations and protests are designed to draw public attention to an issue that is currently not being addressed. Nearly every major news and sports network ran feature stories about the game, the fans and the issue. Word is certainly out and most agree the villain is Fisher and not the City of Oakland nor the players on the team. In fact, it was like a play-off atmosphere Tuesday night with the players responding to the crowd’s energy by winning a close game. It seemed as though Hollywood script writers somehow got involved.
So what happens next? Will Fisher sell the team? Surely there is an owner or a group of owners here in the Bay Area willing to invest. Does Fisher see dollar signs in Vegas because I’m not so sure the A’s have any fans in Southern Nevada. And if the City of Las Vegas isn’t cooperating with open arms and throws up a few roadblocks to Fisher’s scheme, does he return to Oakland officials with hat in hand? I think not. The gap he has created with the fans is much larger than The Gap that gave him all the money to buy the team to begin with. The A’s will be moving to Lost Wages. Bet on it.
#ReverseBoycott#SelltheTeam
Lovely fun story to read!