My Life as a Upset Baseball Fan

 Yep it's been a while since I've written on this blog. But something has happened recently that I have been very passionate about for the last 2 years, then the last couple months that passion has become, a anger for a group of baseball fans (the best fans in baseball, yes I said the best fans in baseball), those baseball fans, are the fans of the OAKLAND Athletics, as we all know them the Oakland A's. Now those who know me, know I'm a lifelong Dodger fan, I even wrote about it and even had ex-Dodgers, like Orel Hershiser reach out to me and loved it (my Dodger blog) Yes I am a Dodger fan, but I love baseball, I'm a baseball fan, I still bring a scorecard to every game I go to. So what has happened in Oakland, should anger all baseball fans, and sports fans, even if you're team is rivals of the Oakland A's. What John Fisher (the owner of the A's) has done to the city of Oakland and to a once great and storied franchise, is beyond terrible. This blog is dedicated to all the fans of the OAKLAND A's, you are beyond amazing. If you are not a fan of the Oakland A's and have no idea on what has happened please have an open mind, especially if you have boughten into the lies that the national sports media told us about the city of Oakland, the A's fans and even the Oakland Coliseum, which for a time I did, buy into the lies, but the fans of the Oakland A's changed my mind completely.

 

Picture I took on September 5, 2024 (A's vs Mariners)

Now my journey of the Oakland A's and going to a game at the Coliseum goes back to 2019, when my sister moved to Oakland. I was excited because now I had a chance to go visit the Bay Area, which I had never been to (born and raised in Southern California, Los Angeles area). Well we know about 2020, so I didn't go visit in 2020. Then 2021, that was when the rumors of the Oakland A's moving out of Oakland, started becoming very real. So the opportunity, came for me to book a flight to Oakland and the Bay Area. Now I was real excited, being an old punk rocker, I always wanted to the Bay Area, because there have been so many great punk bands to come out of the Bay Area (Green Day, Rancid, Jawbreaker, Operation Ivy, Crimpshrine, and so many more), and of course Gilman Street. This is something I have been completely invested in all my suggestions on all my social media platforms, on YouTube, and even Amazon has been Oakland A's, you would think I'm a Oakland A's fan.

                                            

Gilman Street 2021

Well before I flew up to Oakland, I bought into what the national sports media was saying about the Oakland A's and the Coliseum, and at the time, I was on the side of getting the A's moving out of Oakland, because as we were told, they had no fans. I wanted to go because like any baseball fan, I would love to visit every MLB ballpark one day (I've only been to 8), so in 2021 flying up to the Bay Area, I made sure to go to Oakland before they move (2022, I flew up again at went to Oracle Park). On July 19, 2021, I attended my first Oakland A's game against the California Angels (yes I said California Angels, they will always be the California Angels or the Anaheim Angels). I went expecting to have the worse stadium experience, and to be around the most dead baseball fans in all of MLB. Well, there was only 14'856 fans in the stadium, but the other 14'855 fans proved me wrong.

Now going to a game at the Oakland Coliseum, begins, when you get on the BART (if you take the BART, which I highly recommend). As you pull up the Coliseum Station (yes the stadium has its own station), you hear the whistle kind of noise as the train breaks for the Coliseum stop. You get off the train with other Oakland A's fan, then you walk across a caged bridge, oh it's an amazing experience, there cannot be a experience like going over the BART bridge in MLB. On this bridge, there are people selling A's hats, shirts, bobbleheads, you walk a little further and someone is selling bottled water, soda, and cans of cold beer, take a few more steps, and a guy is selling shots and mixed drinks, there are even people selling edibles and shrooms, then you will see someone selling bacon wrapped hot dogs, also you might see an old tire, a guy playing music on a old boombox, a guy playing music on a guitar and singing, someone playing drums, while another guy is playing a saxaphone, a few people dancing and just enjoying life, it is awesome, you have to experience this, it's mind blowing. I was loving it.

Now after walking over the bridge and if you get there early and walk down to the parking lot, you will experience tailgating, it's a party, cold beer, soda, music, dancing, and just people having a great time, for a baseball game, they tailgate like people do for football games. I went back in early September to go to 2 more games, so I walked down to the parking lot, I found out later that most these fans would had feed me and gave me a beer, but I have never seen this at a baseball game (Dodgers don't tailgating and the Angels do but it's very casual, Oakland tailgates are parties.






Now entering the stadium, is pretty cool, this past time I went I entered through the Dennis Eckersley Entrance. Now people have given the Oakland Coliseum a bad name, and the first time I went I was expecting  the worse. But what the Oakland Coliseum has that most stadiums don't have is character, especially the newer stadium, the newer stadiums seem to be more entertainment. I am a LA Kings fan, when the Kings and Lakers moved from The Forum to Staples Center, it loss that character, that you can only experience at older stadiums and arenas. There's not too many concessions open but, like the last game I went to my sister's boyfriend and I got cold beer and peanuts, can't beat that at a ballgame. As you walk through the cement hallways of the Oakland Coliseum, you will see; murals of great A's players of the past and A's moments, such as their, 4 World Championships they won in Oakland, and you will already start hearing chants of; "Lets go Oakland." and you even hear the occasional; "Raaaaideeeers", in the distance. I just wish I could had gone to a game without Mount Davis, to my fellow Dodger fans imagine if they built two more decks above the pavillion, and we now longer had the beautiful view of the Los Angeles hills, the palm trees and yes the 76 ball. Oakland use to have a view like this.




Now it's game time, and the game experience I will say I have never experienced anything like this at a baseball game, a soccer game yes, but during the game, it's like being at a soccer game. Oakland fans bring drums; horns, cowbells, they have chants. One chant I noticed that I have never heard at any other baseball game is; "Lets go OAKLAND." Yes they say the city name. Yes at Dodger games it's; "Let's go Dodgers." New York Mets games; "Let's go Mets." In Boston it's; "Let's go Red Sox." I really thought this was cool. And of course the last couple years there's the; "Sell the team" chant and "F*** John Fisher" chant (he deserves that chant). Something else I noticed when I went this past and final season was, keep in mind this was a game in September Oakland was out of the playoff race, this was a Saturday afternoon game against the Detroit Tigers, every time there was 2 strikes against a Tiger batter, the drummers were going crazy, fans were on their feet for a 6th inning 2 strike at bat, tell when do you see this at any other MLB ballpark, during a regular season game. You have to experience a Oakland A's game. this move is NOT the fans of Oakland fault, it makes me sick now when I see people commentating on social media that this is the fans fault and the fans of Oakland are terrible, that is far from the truth.



 

So I have had the opportunity to meet and talk to many Oakland A's fans, let me start by mentioning a couple I met when the A's played in Anaheim earlier this season. Loreen Makishima (who is a huge A's fan and Dodger fan) and her husband Bryan. I talked to Bryan for a while, letting him know how angry and upset I am about this and I'm not even a lifelong A's fan. Then Bryan and Loreen asked me to do something that I considered a huge honor and privilege, and that was take a picture with Bryan with the "SELL" flag. Then when one of the 2 games I went to when I flew to Oakland in September I bumped into them again, then they were honored on the big screen during the game.

 

When I went to the game on September 5, I went out of my way to talk and meet a lot of fans; from being on the BART, in the parking lot, in line to get into the stadium (wish John Fisher would had been opening the gates up earlier), during the game, on the BART again, and then my uber driver after I got lost in downtown Oakland going back to my sister's place. I had ordered a Last Dive Bar shirt, which I wore at the Thursday game, along with my Dodger hat (sorry). I talked to a lot of A's fans, who all said they had been blown away by the support from every MLB fan base (at the end we are all baseball fans). I even met a drummer, I could see the hurt in her eyes as she explained to me what the Coliseum means to her and going to games, she also said, she puts a lot blame on MLB commissioner; Rob Manfred for not preventing this move. I saw a father/daughter on the BART, talked to the dad, that he will no longer be able to take his daughter to Oakland A's game (does this make you happy John Fisher), talked to another guy who thinks, they will build a indoor stadium in Sacramento and never move to Las Vegas, talked to others who think once the team is in Vegas, John Fisher will sell the team, and make a profit. I walked around the entire stadium (still while keeping score in my scorecard, thank you Jenny? for stamping my scorecard), I walked around to get all angles of the stadium. As I was walking a lady yelled at me; " Dodgers suck, but I love your shirt!" We laughed had a good talk she then thanked me for coming and showing support to Oakland. Two fans I really wanted to meet was the founder of Last Dive Bar Steven Leighton and YouTuber Gabriel Hernandez, who has a simply amazing YouTube channel called gamer_athletics. Gabriel's channel is like being at the Coliseum and throughout his videos, it's very emotional to watch him lose, his team he has grown up going to, his fellow fans, along with his girlfriend are like one big family. Gabriel I saw you at you at one game, but that was the game, you had your entire family, so I respected that. I really wish I could had met you guys I only met Jenny. I encourage everyone to check out Gabriel's videos, thank you Gabe for being so transparent and real. Well by the time I went to my last Oakland A's game on September 7, 2024, I was wearing a "SELL" shirt and now wearing a "OAKLAND" A's hat. Sidenote the first Little League team I played on in 1986, in Downey, CA was; the A's. Then my uber drive after I got lost and siri sent me to Jack London Square (where the A's new stadium was supposed to be). He grew up his entire life in Oakland. He told me how he grew going to A's games with his family, he said he became a huge fan, during the Bash Brothers. I let him know I was a 11 year old kid at Dodger Stadium for game 1 of the 1988 World Series (Kirk Gibson HR, sorry for bringing that up, but you guys beat us in '74). I said that HR won the series. He said no Hershiser won that series, he said we could not hit him. He said after game 1, he said we will the next 4, the Dodger team is weak, then the Dodgers won the series in 5 games. I even met a father with his 2 sons at the airport, who happen to be moving to Las Vegas soon, they were the only fans I met who will continue to support the A's. I met some awesome fans, and all you Oakland fans; don't deserve this. I will say it again; DO NOT BLAME THE FANS OF OAKLAND!

Well thank you to all who read this, this blog is dedicated to all the fans of the OAKLAND A's. I thought about writing about John Fisher, but he doesn't deserve it. Everyone knows how terrible he is, and if you don't go on YouTube and search his name. This blog I just want the rest of the MLB universe to know, what we as baseball fans are losing. Do not speak negative of Oakland fans, if you have never experienced a game at the Oakland Coliseum. There will never be a fanbase like Oakland again. Think of your favorite music venue, favorite diner, your favorite dive bar, your favorite coffee shop, it may be a dump, but it's your dump, it's where you love to be, it's where the people you love are at, it's where you have some the greatest memories of your life, and some jerk off billionaire has just taken it away, with no care or concern at all. Again so sorry to the fans of the OAKLAND A's. I now own a Oakland A's hat, last dive bar shirt, last dive bar pin and a Oakland A's shirt.

I'm going to post some links mostly of some amazing videos, search on YouTube "Last A's game in Oakland" and like me you will be watching videos for hours. Also in the blog I have links to Last Dive Bar and Gabriel's YouTube page.

Playlist I made and listened to while writing this it's an Oakland punk rock playlist

Gabriel's Last A's at the Coliseum

Brodie Brazil Farewell (Speaking of Brodie Brazil watch his videos too)

Why Oakland has the best fans by Between the Benches

The Last Game in Oakland What Really Happened

Oakland A's Fans Roast John Fisher at the last game in Oakland

https://youtu.be/kjcwXPyKQ58?si=IueW0aSiTlltCFWN

Final Game in Oakland by the Philly Captain (this one is great because he's from Philadelphia and it's an outsider's perspective, he talks to the fans of Oakland)

my IG I have two accounts

The LAFC Punk

Jason Arellano

My Life As a Girl Dad

Yep it's been a while since I've written something, but I will try to do more, life is crazy and busy, but I have been encouraged by some people to start writing so here I am, and this is a topic I was asked by someone to write, I'm sorry I forgot who requested it, but it's about being a girl dad, which I love being.

Often guys will often talk about how they want sons; to carry on the last name, to play catch with, to hunt with, to watch sports with, to do manly things with, but not me. I was in 7th grade English class, daydreaming like I did in school often, staring out the window. On this day, I started thinking about being a dad one day and all I could about was how I wanted daughters. I even had a name picked out for my first daughter, if I ever ended up having a daughter; that name was Gloria, named after Grandma; Gloria Arellano. Then I eventually ended up watching my favorite musical; Fiddler on the Roof, and was inspired by Tevye, to perhaps one day have 5 daughters.

Now let's fast forward to July 4th 2012, my wife and I were expecting our first child and we were going to have; a boy or girl. We did not know what the sex of the baby was, only my sister in laws knew. We had a big party, with everyone guessing what the sex of the baby was going to be; you could either vote for "Team Ezekiel" or "Team Gloria", yes I wanted a girl, but I thought it was going to be a boy, so I wrote down for Team Ezekiel. Well we opened a box and pink balloons flew out, which meant Gloria was on her way, her due date was Thanksgiving Day 2012, but Gloria had other plans. At midnight on the night of November 10, 2012, my wife woke me up telling me of some discomfort she was having, regarding Gloria. She asked to call a number that Kaiser had given to us regarding any questions or concerns regarding the pregnancy, it was a 24 hour line, so I called. I got on the line with a nurse, I explained the discomfort my wife was feeling, the nurse said; "Oh that's normal, no need to worry you don't need to come in." Then something (it was God) reminding me to let the nurse know that the baby is breached (Gloria's head was up not down). When I said that the nurse said; "Oh my gosh, you need to come in as soon as possible!" So we got out of bed and rushed to the hospital (Kaiser in Fontana). We got to the hospital, went to a room, and they said we need to get this baby out now, a emergency c-section. I was honestly scared to death for my wife and for my daughter. My wife said text my family and let them know Gloria is coming, I said it's 12:30 AM, she said they will come. At 2:14 AM, Gloria arrived, at just 5 pounds, she was tiny, so small newborn clothing was too big for, newborn diapers were too big for her. She came came screaming and crying real loud, the nurse handed her to me, we took her to a table and the nurse asked me to count her fingers and toes, and asked me to cut the cord, which looked like a bratwurst. I officially was a father of; Gloria Rose Arellano. After that they took us to another, for what Kaiser calls the family's "golden hour". Well Gloria was hungry, real hungry, she ate from mom with no problems at all (by the Gloria still loves to eat and she can eat a lot). My sister in law texted me asking if they can come see Gloria, I said not yet, she won't stop eating; my sister in law responded with; "Yep she's Armenian." Gloria (and Amalia) are Armenian, Mexican, Salvadoran and white. 

Needless to say I was beyond happy and blessed to be a dad, to a little baby girl named Gloria. Gloria as a baby and even to this day is a mommy's girl. The first day mommy went back to work and I stayed home with Gloria, Gloria screamed and cried the entire time, until mommy came home she stopped. We even had video of us passing Gloria back and forth, when I had her she cried, when she went to mommy she stopped. Eventually that stopped, and we were able to do daddy/daughter dates to Chick-fil-a and to Kings games. But one thing I miss, at the time it cause me to lose sleep. But on nights she would wake up crying and not hungry. or just waking up to not sleep; it was my time to take her to the living room and stay awake with her until she feel asleep, if she was hungry only mommy could feed her. But those nights staying up with and then her falling asleep on me were precious, same thing with Amalia. Speaking of Amalia, 2 years and 3 months later on February 25, 2015, we were blessed with daughter number 2; Amalia Nina Arellano.

Amalia's birth was completely different than her sister. Amalia came on her due date, it was a much calmer day. Amalia also was a much more calm baby, when it came to her staying home with me, she would just sit in my lap all day, eat, poop and sleep, no crying at all. In fact when we go to church or family events Amalia would let anyone hold her and not cry at all. Gloria only let mommy hold her. But I was and still am loving, having two daughters.

Now one thing I love doing with my daughters, and they love doing it too (especially Amalia) are daddy/daughter dates. We have also done tea parties, I've had my toe and fingernails painted, and I love it. When Gloria was younger she would watch Frozen (which she called Anna) at least twice a day, if there was a trivia game on Frozen I would had beaten anyone. Something else I love so much, is when the girls just want to cuddle, Gloria is getting older but every now and then she'll just come sit next to me and put her head on my shoulder, Amalia is a little cuddle bug. Gloria loves to read and discuss books, she also is a foodie, a dinner date with her can be pretty expensive, she likes good food. Amalia loves going to McDonalds and going to the dollar store, Amalia also loves going to LAFC games and is always asking when we are going to a game again.

Unfortunately in 2020, we got divorced, which meant and currently means a lot less time with my girls, then I would want. But I have learned to cherish each moment I have with my girls. Being a divorced parent with children and having to split time up with kids, is something I would not wish on anyone. But I love being a dad of the two most wonderful, beautiful girls.

 

My Life As A LAFC Supporter

If you haven't heard there is a new Football team in Los Angeles and I'm not talking about the Rams or the Chargers, I'm talking about LAFC (Los Angeles Football Club). LAFC is the newest club in MLS (Major League Soccer), and yes I am a LAFC supporter aka fan.

Now before I really get into the love of new soccer (football club) LAFC, let me share with you about how I became a fan of the beautiful game. We are going to go way back to the mid 80's, when I was a kid in elementary school there was not really a professional outdoor soccer league in the United States. As a kid growing up I loved and still do love sports. I wanted to be a professional athlete as a kid, then as I got older I desired to be a sports journalist. Alright back to pro soccer in the United States, there was one league I followed MISL and my team was the Los Angeles Lazers. I loved going to Lazer games, I even attended the 1987 All-Star game. The Lazers folded in 1989, so there really wasn't any soccer to watch in Los Angeles, so I just became disconnected with soccer. 

Then in 1994 the FIFA World Cup was in the United States, and I watched every game I could, especially if the United States or Mexico was playing, but even after the US and Mexico got eliminated I watched the entire tournament. Because of the World Cup I wanted to keep on watching soccer. So being born and raised in Southern California and being half Mexican on the weekends there was always the Mexican league on TV. I needed a team to cheer for in the Mexican league so I asked my dad what part of Mexico my grandpa was from, he said Guadalajara, and I noticed there was a club called Chivas from Guadalajara, so they became my Mexican team.

At the time I had no idea that Chivas were the most popular and most hated team in Mexico, kind of like the Cowboys, Yankees and Celtics are in the United States in football, baseball. and basketball. I enjoyed watching the games, but I just wanted a LA team, also being 2nd generation Mexican and half Mexican I did not speak or understand Spanish.

In 1996 soccer in America changed forever, MLS had it's first season. Being that I've always supported my local Los Angeles sports teams (Kings, Dodgers, Lakers, Rams), I was a Galaxy fan, in fact I had season seats during their last season at the Rose Bowl (2002), but driving to Carson was just way too far, and the ticket prices sky rocketed my seats went from $15 a game to $60 a game. In 2005 the league added Chivas USA to MLS, so being a Chivas de Guadalajara I became a supporter of Chivas USA, I even had season seats in 2007 (their best season), but the drive was again just too far driving all the way to Carson. Make a long story short, Chivas USA had terrible ownership and the club folded in 2014. Now I did consider going back to being a supporter for the Galaxy, but the rivalry between Chivas USA and Galaxy just caused me to not go back, plus with the fact, a member of one the Galaxy support group pissed on my leg in the restroom at Home Depot Center as I was at the urinal, so I was to put it lightly a little bitter towards the Galaxy.

Right after Chivas USA folded MLS granted Los Angeles new expansion club, set to play in 2018, under new ownership (thank God), the new owners were and are a LA celebrities (Magic Johnson, Will Ferrell, Nomar Garciaparra, Mia Hamm, Ruben Gnanalingam). The name of this new club, Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC). So of course this would eventually become my new MLS club. During this time I didn't really watch too many MLS matches. But as 2018 MLS season was approaching the PR department and those who work for LAFC, were doing an amazing job promoting the club. Owners like Will Ferrell were on talk shows promoting the club. Also there was a stadium being built, LAFC would not be sharing the StubHub Center with the Galaxy, which Chivas USA did, and that was one of the many things that hurt Chivas USA (I could literally write a whole blog and the disastrous ownership of Chivas USA). The new stadium was being built on the same location of the old LA Sports Arena in Exposition Park in Los Angeles right nest door to the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, right in the heart of Los Angeles.

Also during this time, even before the club had played a game, supporter groups started forming; The Empire Boys (the group I'm part of), The Black Army 1850, District 9 Ultras, Expo Originals, The Lucky Boys, LAFC Cuervos, just to name a fewf. But together we are the 3252. 3252 is in the North End of the stadium, in consists of 3252 seats (except we do not sit, we stand the entire match), also 3+2+5+2=12, which represents the 12th man, and if you've ever been to a LAFC match, you know how loud the 3252 is. being in the 3252 is a experience in itself, you will lose your voice, you will lose some calories, by jumping for LA Football Club.

Trust me I know I've left some stuff out, like the signing of Carlos Vela, and drafting the team through the expansion draft, but I don't want this to go too long. But the long wait was over, the 2018 MLS season came. Due to the fact that Banc of California Stadium was not going to be ready until April, LAFC had to play their first 6 matches on the road, and they put up a remarkable 4-2 record, picking up 12 of a possible 18 points. In their first ever game they played the Sounders in Seattle (one of the toughest stadiums to win in, with some of the loudest supporters in the MLS and the defending Western Conference Champions). LAFC went in and beat the Sounders 1-0, with a beautiful goal (the first in LAFC history) by Diego Rossi.

Well after the first game I was hooked, and watched every game I could. Now I really wanted to go to a game, but just could not afford it (you've heard of putting your kids through college, I'm working two jobs to put my lovely wife through college). Well on July 15 as I watching the World Cup Final I received a message from an old friend Jacob Mann, asking if I wanted his tickets for the LAFC match against the Portland Timbers (thanks again). So I asked my wife if I could go and she said I could go if I clean the restroom and clean the kitchen (sometimes being married is like being a teenager, if you want to go out you have to do chores). So of course I cleaned the kitchen and restroom drove to the APU Metro goldline station and headed to LA to attend my first LAFC match. Needless to say the experience from walking into the stadium, pregame, and of course the match. The result was a 0-0 draw, but now I was even more hooked, and I knew next I had to be in the 3252. So I sent out a tweet asking if there were any supporter groups out where I live in the Inland Empire, and I was pointed to the Empire Boys.

Once I got hooked up to the Empire Boys I started going to viewing parties and a meet and greet and a local brewery. Then on October 12 I saved up some money and was finally able to attend a match in the 3252, with the Empire Boys. Needless to say this was not your ordinary match. When I arrived to the Banc, the weather was beautiful. I got their early had two $4 beers, in the 3252, sang the national anthem with the 3252 (which happens at every game), the at around the 32 minute rain came along with lighting, so because of the lighting the game was on a weather delay. We all thought it would not be that long, I was really hoping it wouldn't be long because I had to be at work in Rancho Cucamonga at 5am. During the weather most of the fans in the stadium, except for the 3252. During the entire weather delay the 3252, was still chanting, singing, jumping and banging on the drums. The match finally started up again, with LAFC being down 1-0, LAFC ended up winning the match 4-2, with one of the goals, being this beauty from Carlos Vela. 

That night I didn't get home until 2AM, but made it to work by 5AM, with just 2 hours of sleep, and it was totally worth it. Being part of a supporter group is amazing, it's a brotherhood and sisterhood. You can act like a total nut, by signing, chanting, jumping, and not look crazy because you have 3251 other people acting the same way. Before the game started someone asked me; "Is this your first game?" I said; "No I sat in section 222 earlier in the season." She said; "No that didn't count this is your first game." Well she was right! LAFC ended the regular season with 57 points, a expansion team record in MLS, the playoffs ended in a way that we may not have liked, but the future of this club looks more than great. Hopefully in 2019 I'll be able to attend more matches, money is still tight. If you're reading this and you have not attended a LAFC match I strongly encourage you to go, even if it's not in the 3252. You might bump into Will Ferrell like I did at the Houston match.

In closing I'm in the process of trying to do my own podcast called The LAFCPunk, it will be covering LAFC and throw a little punk music in there. I have no idea how to do a podcast. I'd love to interview different members of the 3252, game reviews, game previews. If you'd like to help me out let me know and contact me at jasonarellano77@gmail.com, I live in Alta Loma. 

Watch party with the Empire Boys and Black Army

Will Ferrell greeting the 3252

Pouring down rain and the 3252 is still going at it 

Victory Chant after every win