An Important Reminder for the A's Final Homestand

Jason Burke | Sep 20, 2024

Aug 24, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; A general view of Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum as seen from fan seating section 307 before a major league baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the Milwaukee Brewers. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

The Oakland A's are set to begin their final homestand tonight against the New York Yankees, and while we are all very much in our feels about the impending loss of A's baseball, it's important to remember a couple of things.

The first is that John Fisher doesn't own the Coliseum, so any damage that is done to the facility will not impact him whatsoever. In fact, he may be happy to see a little destruction during the A's final game in Oakland, because it would prove that he had to get out in the first place. With all of the recent fan-led events like the reverse boycotts, Fan's Fest, the Opening Day boycott, etc., there have been no incidents. It's important that stays true over the next week, or else the fans may cease to become the media darlings of this story.

Given the track record of A's fans throughout this process, it's easy to believe this shouldn't be a problem, but we'll also be dealing with the final game at the Coliseum, so emotions may be running a little higher, given the finality of the upcoming events.

The other thing to keep in mind is that Fisher also isn't going to clean up any trash that is thrown on the field. That will be done by stadium employees, who will cease to have jobs once the game is over. Trashing the field would be adding insult to injury.

It's also worth remembering that the Oakland Roots and Soul will be playing games at the Coliseum next season, so the venue will be in use in 2025, but in a different capacity.

That said, it's important for everyone in attendance over these next six games to get some sort of closure. What that looks like for each fan will be different. Some will want to sit in their seats and soak in their last few moments, while hopefully listening to "Celebration" on repeat. Others may want to choose to chant "Let's go Oak-land" as a defiant war cry.

Oakland is resilient and filled with fighters, but it's up to the people to write the story for the next chapter in this city. A's fans have already helped change the narrative that has been written about them for decades, showing that it's not them, but apathetic ownership that's the problem. For the next six games it's important to drive that point home, just by being our loud, exuberant selves.

They're saying that Oakland is dying. Show them that there's plenty of life left to give for an ownership that's willing to invest in us. Lay the groundwork for the future of professional sports in Oakland.