Oakland is very much my favourite place to see a game, anywhere. I’m really lucky to have been in that stadium for some famous and infamous baseball moments. (Bay-Bridge 2, Rickey’s number retirement…)
And, on a lesser scale, Donaldson’s return to Oakland. I wore a crisp new Jays/Donaldson t-shirt, expecting at least some well-deserved shit-talk from A’s fans in response. (Hey, I’ve been called a n****r twice at Fenway simply for the transgression of flying my team’s colours.) Instead I was accosted by fan after fan, with resoundingly similar concerns: they wanted to make sure I knew exactly how fucking good Donaldson was and how lucky Jays fans were to have him. More than one said “congratulations”, and genuinely at that. (I can tell you as a grad of the Expos’ talent-seeding of MLB, we were not blasé about beneficiary teams.)
Know this: Oakland Athletics fans are CLASS. They have put up with such shit – Davis & Davis, Mount Davis, etc, etc – and still show up (in smallish numbers) because they love the game. They devote exactly zero energy to hating on opposing fans. And the tailgate culture is strong and super chill.
Such an unlikely, amazing place to see a game. Put it at or near the top of your post-pandemic list.
That's amazing. Well, apart from the Fenway stuff, obviously. It definitely seems like a unique place, that's for sure. Not sure the players and coaches will miss the facilities, but cool to hear all this. You think they'll lose a lot of that charm if they ever get to Howard Terminal?
Yeah, this is definitely all from a fan’s perspective: the fan that has “Big Hair and Plastic Grass” on the bedside table (very strong book titling, there). Though no plastic grass, the place is a shithole that screams 1970s – but it’s their shithole, dammit! Embracing it seems as elemental to being a fan there as sneering at the Giants and their money and their successes. Hard to think that Howard Terminal would be as much fun. I’m pretty sure it won’t be as inexpensive…
Re: A’s Semien Tribute
Oakland is very much my favourite place to see a game, anywhere. I’m really lucky to have been in that stadium for some famous and infamous baseball moments. (Bay-Bridge 2, Rickey’s number retirement…)
And, on a lesser scale, Donaldson’s return to Oakland. I wore a crisp new Jays/Donaldson t-shirt, expecting at least some well-deserved shit-talk from A’s fans in response. (Hey, I’ve been called a n****r twice at Fenway simply for the transgression of flying my team’s colours.) Instead I was accosted by fan after fan, with resoundingly similar concerns: they wanted to make sure I knew exactly how fucking good Donaldson was and how lucky Jays fans were to have him. More than one said “congratulations”, and genuinely at that. (I can tell you as a grad of the Expos’ talent-seeding of MLB, we were not blasé about beneficiary teams.)
Know this: Oakland Athletics fans are CLASS. They have put up with such shit – Davis & Davis, Mount Davis, etc, etc – and still show up (in smallish numbers) because they love the game. They devote exactly zero energy to hating on opposing fans. And the tailgate culture is strong and super chill.
Such an unlikely, amazing place to see a game. Put it at or near the top of your post-pandemic list.
That's amazing. Well, apart from the Fenway stuff, obviously. It definitely seems like a unique place, that's for sure. Not sure the players and coaches will miss the facilities, but cool to hear all this. You think they'll lose a lot of that charm if they ever get to Howard Terminal?
Yeah, this is definitely all from a fan’s perspective: the fan that has “Big Hair and Plastic Grass” on the bedside table (very strong book titling, there). Though no plastic grass, the place is a shithole that screams 1970s – but it’s their shithole, dammit! Embracing it seems as elemental to being a fan there as sneering at the Giants and their money and their successes. Hard to think that Howard Terminal would be as much fun. I’m pretty sure it won’t be as inexpensive…