This is all gross. Drop the news at 10pm the day they leave for a road trip and the Bay Area is focused on the Kings vs. Warriors Game 3 tonight so they don’t have to face angry fans. It's not quite packing up and leaving under the cover of night like the Baltimore Colts, but it feels as close to that as possible in today's world.
I don’t blame Oakland for holding its ground. I blame Fisher and Manfred and back to Selig too. And F*** the Giants for their role in the territorial rights crap that kept the A’s from being able to really try in SJ or Fremont. This was all on purpose and they basically Major League'd their way out of Oakland.
The A’s have been my second favorite team only to the Sharks my whole life. My dad grew up in Oakland and worked for the A’s before I was born. We used to take my grandmother before she passed. We’ve had three generations of A’s fans since the day they came to Oakland in the 60s. I was there for the 20th win in the streAk, the Jeter flip in the playoffs, clinching the division in 2012 and the Game 4 comeback against DET that season, and hundreds of games over 3+ decades. I feel actual grief.
Someone asked if A's fans will migrate to the Giants, and I can't see that being a case for most folks. I have an unhealthy little brother complex about the Giants as an A's fan, and I don't think that's uncommon.
I don’t know if they’re dead to me as of today or I can hang with them until they actually leave, but once they’re gone that’s it. My dad is holding onto that 5% chance this all falls apart. Nothing is done until there are shovels in the ground, but this is as close as you get before that happens.
I bought tickets to some games this year already, and I'll still go to see fellow fans, hang with Pops, and commit some misdemeanor fecal-related crimes outside Kaval's office if given the opportunity. But all of this is sad.