Inside The As

Green Day Frontman has some Words for A's Owner John Fisher

Jason Burke

Billie Joe Armstrong performs with his band Green Day during the Saviors Tour at Chase Field on Sept. 18, 2024, in Phoenix.
Billie Joe Armstrong performs with his band Green Day during the Saviors Tour at Chase Field on Sept. 18, 2024, in Phoenix. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Green Day has been on tour for the past month or so, playing primarily in MLB ballparks, and frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has been doing some redecorating at a number of those stops. It all started in Toronto, when Armstrong found the A's logo, and spray painted over it the Oakland Ballers' "B" logo.

The band has posted similar shenanigans at other stops, but on Friday night the band was playing at Oracle Park in San Francisco, right across the Bay from Oakland.

The festivities began with Rancid guitarist Lars Frederiksen taking the microphone and saying "F--- John Fisher. His whole family makes money off the backs of Bay Area people, then he wants to f--- off to Vegas. F--- him." It should also be noted that Rancid is from nearby Berkeley, a neighbor of Oakland.

When it was time for the headliner to come out, Armstrong went into a little more detail.

"Tonight is a very special night. Tonight we are home. This is my home. Green Day, we are from the Bay Area. We live the Bay Area. We smell the Bay Area. We are the refineries. We are that cold Bay. This is us. We are East Bay."

He then went in on A's owner John Fisher.

"We don't take no s--- from people like John Fisher, who wants to move the A's to Las --- Vegas. I hate Las Vegas. It is the worst [place] in America."

As you can tell, this has been heavily redacted, so if you would like to hear what he said verbatim, the video is also down below.

It should also be noted that Armstrong was at last year's "reverse boycott" game at the Coliseum, and has been seen at both Oakland Ballers and Oakland Roots/Soul games over the past year, with fans stopping him for pictures.

Typically when a band talks about local sports, they're pandering to get the crowd riled up. But for Green Day and Billie Joe Armstrong, it's the real deal.

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Jason Burke

JASON BURKE

Jason is the host of the Locked on A's podcast, and the managing editor of Inside the A's. He's a new father and can't wait to take his son to his first baseball game at the Coliseum. 

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