Oakland fan groups aren’t flocking to see Athletics play SF Giants this weekend

SAN FRANCISCO The tears that flooded the Coliseum last Sept.

26 have given way to grim resignation as the Athletics return to the Bay Area without a city officially attached to their nickname.The As begin a three-game series against the Giants Friday night at Oracle Park but it will lack the fervor of the final game in Oakland before 46,889 fans against the Texas Rangers.Thats what some of the main protagonists from the 2024 As drama believe.

There will be a smattering of green Sell T-shirts and Oakland gear.

Maybe a Sell the team chant will spring up.But it wont be like it was on Sept.

26, when the late Rickey Henderson and Dave Stewart threw out the first pitch, Barry Zito sang the national anthem and manager Mark Kotsay addressed a nostalgic and emotional crowd after a 3-2 win over the Rangers.

It concluded 57 years of baseball at the Coliseum.Will MacNeil, otherwise known as Right Field Will to the fan base and even players and coaches, will be there even if his heart is not in it.

The 45th game of the As season will be his first in attendance.I got a free ticket, MacNeil said this week.

Its the deepest Ive gone into a season without going to see them play since elementary school.The protest efforts organized largely by independent support groups such as Last Dive Bar and the Oakland 68s wont be replicated.Im not planning on going to any As games anytime soon, said Anson Casanares of the 68s.

I honestly didnt know they were playing the Giants this weekend.

I havent heard (about) any of my friends attending.

Everyone is detached from the team since they left Oakland.Jorge Leon of the 68s compared it to a breakup with a girlfriend at an Oakland Fans Fest in early March.You dont want me? Ill move on, Leon said.And now, with the As actually returning to the Bay Area against the Giants?We will not be going to any of those games as the 68s or personally, Leon said.

No protests from our side.

We support Oakland teams and the As are no longer here.Like the 68s, Last Dive Bar is giving its support to the Pioneer Leagues Oakland Ballers, who open their season next Tuesday, May 20, at Raimondi Park, as well as the Oakland Roots (men) and Soul (women) pro soccer teams, which play at the Coliseum.Bryan Johansen, right, founder of As fan group Last Dive Bar, sells merchandise during a boycott opening day block party in the parking lot before their MLB opening day game against the Cleveland Guardians at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, March 28, 2024.

(Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)Bryan Johansen, owner of Last Dive Bar, still dutifully posts whatever snark he can find regarding reviled owner John Fisher about the As minor league setup on the LDB website.

Hes going Friday, but like MacNeil, it will be with a free ticket.

He believes the As departure impacted the fans of the team and is a black eye for the sport as a whole.After what Major League Baseball allowed the move to happen, and with what the As themselves did and how they treated fans, employees and players on their way out, a lot of people are just detached from MLB as a whole, Johansen said.

If something organically were to happen I could see a Lets Go Oakland chant Id like to see that.

Thatd be pretty cool.

I think Giants fans are angry too.

They were stripped of a nostalgic matchup for the Bay Area.

Theyre deprived as well.Last Dive Bar is associated with the Stockton Ports, an Athletics Single-A team.

MacNeil is a part-time stadium P.A.

announcer for the Ports and other independent league teams in the area.

He cant give up the sport he loves even though the team he loves has left town, although he fears his feelings for the As will recede over time.Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay, center, and his team aknowledges fans after the As played the last home game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, Sept.

26, 2024.

The Oakland Athletics won 3-2 against the Texas Rangers.

The As will move to Sacramento next season.

(Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)Hes been to Sutter Health Park, the As temporary home in West Sacramento, but to see the Giants Triple-A team, the River Cats, to get his baseball fix without giving Fisher any of his personal income.

Hell go on occasional road trips to see the As, with Kansas City up next.As much as he detests Fisher, MacNeil cant totally break away because he has formed personal relationships not only with fans, but players and coaches.

The As are 22-21 entering their game Thursday night at Dodger Stadium and more competitive than the recent Oakland teams, which lost 307 games from 2022 through 2024.MacNeil has a whole catalogue of selfies taken with players who have bonded with him in Oakland and at road games.Trust me, its weird, MacNeil said.

I hate it because Im proud of the players.

I love watching what Jacob Wilson is doing and seeing Nick Kurtz in the big leagues.

Its just so unfortunate theyre doing it in a different city and in a minor league park.

A part of me thinks I should stay home Friday, but I want to hopefully see some of the guys like Lawrence Butler before the game.It has been duly noted that the Athletics, for all their improvement, are 7-14 at the new home, where they plan to play three seasons before relocating to Las Vegas.

Rumors of a string of sellouts have given way to an average attendance of 10,166 with a capacity of 14,014.

Thats ahead of only the Tampa Bay Rays, who are also playing in a minor league park while their home is undergoing repairs from hurricane damage.

Its also behind the 11,528 they averaged last season at the Coliseum, the leagues lowest in 2024.Its just crazy, look at the As home and road numbers and it speaks to the situation they were placed in by John Fisher, Johansen said.Related ArticlesNew SF Giants-As rivalry will have familiar feel, but itll never be the same as the Bay Bridge SeriesSF Giants Verlander frustrated over tweaks to tighten strike zone, MLBs lack of communicationCould this right-handers spot in the SF Giants rotation be in jeopardy?SF Giants make some late noise, but are doomed by early pitching strugglesWhats the SF Giants plan at second base when Tyler Fitzgerald returns?But at least Fisher achieved his goal of seeing Aaron Judge hit home runs in an intimate setting.Were excited to be here for the next three years playing in this beautiful ballpark, Fisher said at Sutter Health Park last April when the As officially announced their intentions.

But also being able to watch some of the greatest players in baseball, whether they be Athletics players or Aaron Judge and others launch home runs out of this very intimate, the most intimate ballpark in all of Major League Baseball for the next three years.Judge hit two home runs, two doubles and drove in five runs in a three-game series in West Sacramento last weekend.John Fisher is probably elated, MacNeil said.

He got made fun of on SportsCenter for that quote.As fans will take their small victories any way they can.FileAthletics owner John Fisher speaks at a press conference on April 4 at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento..

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