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