Unfortunately, that certain team is back in the world series. You know the one I’m talking about… No, not Detroit, that other one. The one that resides across the Bay area. And for the second time in three years, Oakland fans are burdened with having to witness arguably the most shameless bandwagoning in professional sports. It’s no secret that most Oakland fans hold shaky relations with SF. And why not? The two franchises are extreme opposites and geographic adversaries that have historical grudges dating back to the first few years of the 20th century. The manager of the New York Giants insulted Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics in 1901 calling them “White Elephants” and implying that they were useless oddities, a tired phenomenon requiring high maintenance. Mack decided instead to embrace the insult and the image of a white elephant became a symbol epitomizing the underdog mentality for the Athletics that has withstood for 111 years. And validating the old adage that “history repeats itself” once again, the Giants are still just as irritating more than a century later.
More recently, San Francisco has formed a split with Oakland through territorial rights. The much disputed San Jose region, given to San Francisco by Walter Haas in a verbal agreement, and now proved as a battleground for the most tired, prolonged, and draining argument in sports. Oakland, wishing to relocate from their current confines at the Coliseum, has requested that commissioner, Bud Selig, step in the settle the rightful owner of the region. Selig continues to spew off his patented response such as “It’s a complicated issue” and “We’ve got people working on it”. Months later, practically zero progress has been made as the Athletics’ lease with the Coliseum expires following the 2013 campaign (However, there have been rumors of an extension through 2018). Though the area has become far more economically fruitful over the past decade or so, Oakland claims they have the right to move into the land given their situation. The entire scuffle has been extraordinarily thorny and convoluted so I refuse to go into every detail as of this point.
San Francisco has notoriously attempted to label Oakland as a “little brother” within the Bay Area market. It’s a classic symptom of rivalries between two ballclubs sharing regions. But, not in Chicago, New York, Baltimore/DC, or Los Angeles is there more of a noticeable difference financially between two organizations. The Athletics have been well renowned for their ability to thrive despite a low payroll and playing in a stadium not up to snuff with major league baseball standards. San Francisco on the other hand is a “good child” within the eyes of baseball, utilizing their expansive payroll, opulent attractions, picturesque location and indulgent fare to draw in the crowds. The pinnacle of a white collar ballclub.
Oakland is housed in the Coliseum, a dilapidated, crumbling, eyesore according to major league baseball (I personally believe it’s a comfortable environment with cozy confines and a place where the Oakland community is strengthened. But, that’s MLB for you). With some of the most affordable tickets in a baseball and the only facility left hosting both baseball and football teams, Oakland continues to grip onto their “White Elephant” mentality. Criticized for attendance constantly, the A’s of Oakland have taken the label of the “misbehaving child” with stride, establishing themselves as polar opposites from the organization just a minutes’ drive away.
Now, bandwagons are natural for any contending team. The bandwagon didn’t pass Oakland, as there was an increase in attendance and green and gold. But, historically the bandwagon bump hasn’t made a drastically significant impact on Oakland’s fanbase if they were to advance into the postseason. On the other hand, San Francisco’s expands exponentially when contending in October. Even the supposed “Flagship station for Oakland Athletics baseball” couldn’t escape this conversion, currently discussing SF 24/7. San Francisco seems to be the casual fans paradise, most having misperceptions of Oakland or believing the Coliseum doesn’t provide a “genuine baseball experience”. These fans ju… Hold on. Let me define what an actual “fan” is:
“Fan” is short for fanatic. “Fanatic”, as defined in the dictionary, is “Marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion”. Someone who is fanatical about baseball doesn’t watch 5-10 games a year (Also, watching 2 ½ innings or checking a boxscore isn’t watching a game). Someone who is fanatical can recognize all of the players on their team’s roster and not just the four or five most famous ones. Someone who is fanatical doesn’t attend a game and talk the entire way through paying zero attention to the game. Someone who is fanatical knows that there are three strikes given to a batter, the distance between the basepaths and how many players there are on a field at one given time… I for one propose a name change. I move that these people be called “Seat fillers” and not fanatics.
Now, just as there are “Seat Fillers” in every franchise, there are also legitimate fans. I admit San Francisco has actual fans amongst their stands and to those few I apologize that these seat fillers have tried to take credit for your level of dedication. While Oakland’s seat filler ratio can’t possibly approach San Fran’s, the white spikes do unfortunately have their share of periodic seat fillers. However, despite an attendance that doesn’t amaze, The Athletics have some of the most devoted fans in baseball. From lifetime season ticket holders to the rowdiest bleachers in the sport, the Athletics could arguably have one of the largest fanbases (Actual fanatics) in the game. So please all of you SF seat fillers, stop trying to emulate Bay Area/KNBR lingo and bash Oakland’s attendance. Since you’ve only been following baseball for three days, maybe focus on attempting to find out what those large yellow poles are used for instead…
Anyways, us Athletics fans might just have to endure yet another offseason of SF propaganda and shameless bandwagoning, but it’s nothing we can’t handle no matter how irritating it may be. And whether or not this stadium situation has a definitive ending, it won’t change our long standing rivalry with our neighbors on the peninsula. Just remember, stay strong and keep your eyes on spring training 2013 at Phoenix Muni. It’ll be here sooner then you think…
No comments:
Post a Comment