Oakland Athletics fans have expressed frustration with the management of their favorite team for years now and, in recent months, even called for the owner to sell the team. Now that the team is officially leaving Oakland, California, this has stirred strong emotions among fans.
In a form of protest, fans of the team refused to show up to their Opening Day matchup against the Cleveland Guardians. Fans of the A’s referred to this as the “Block Party Boycott,” and this caused only around 13,000 fans to attend the game, compared to their 27,000 fans last Opening Day.
Following the protest, the A’s’ owner, John Fisher, announced that the team would be leaving Oakland Coliseum three years earlier than expected and will be playing in Sacramento, California, for the years leading up to the construction of their new field out in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The people of Oakland were outraged by the move to Las Vegas, but now that the team’s move is happening sooner than expected, it has caused even more backlash in the community and all over. Fans have explained that this is primarily due to the perspective of the A’s abandoning Oakland after all they have gone through.
Congresswoman Barbara Lee has criticized the move, highlighting a broader concern about how ownership all throughout baseball is unjust, saying that owners are now prioritizing their own financial interest rather than the communities that have always supported them.
Lee’s statement, while broad, does seem to illustrate the frustration that all A’s fans are going through during this time because many do believe that Fisher is just throwing away a 56-year relationship with the city for money.
When the Athletics make their departure from Oakland to Sacramento following this season, they will be scraping the word “Oakland” out of their title and will be referred to as just the Athletics until their official move to Las Vegas when the stadium is ready. The move next season also puts them playing their games in a minor league stadium that only holds 15,000 fans rather than continuing to play in a major league-level stadium. This will make the A’s go from playing in the biggest MLB stadium to the smallest one.
Luke Schmidt, a junior computer science student, brought up how he thinks the fans of the A’s are responding to the move made by ownership.
“The fans were completely justified in their protest,” Schmidt said. “The team has been there for so long. I’d be mad too if they just up and left, and the owner is completely crazy for leaving the coliseum years early. It just seems unfair to the fans.”
The unhappy fans said they protested the games to prove their never-ending loyalty to their beloved team and their sadness at their departure. Many believe their frustration with the team’s ownership is completely understandable.
Cole Alegria, a sophomore art major with a concentration in graphic design, explained how he would react to losing his favorite team and shared crucial insight.
“I would understand a team leaving for money,” Alegria said. “But I feel when the A’s disassociated from Oakland, it placed a barrier between the fans and the organization, so I would be more upset over the disassociation more than anything, as it seems disrespectful to the history of the franchise.”
The desire of the fan base to maintain their team and their history will be a present and relevant aspect of the 2024-2025 season. As the final season for the Oakland Athletics is underway, fans in the city shall cherish the team and the coliseum since they only have a little more time to enjoy their precious A’s and stadium.
