As early as 2000, Oakland has been threatened with the reality of the Athletics leaving for greener pastures in another city.
Fans teetering in this precarious position—elated, then devastated by news of the franchise’s intentions of finding a new home away from Oakland—have been lulled into a sense of disgruntled compliance.
Goodbye to new optimism. Goodbye to budding franchise stars. Goodbye to the hope that this time things will be different.
Being Uprooted from the town that the A’s have firmly supplanted their roots since 1968 is a constant threat to the fans that continue to come back, hearts drumming, voices echoing along the concrete passageways of a decrepit cathedral that has already been abandoned before.
Oakland has accepted their team crossing the frigid Bay waters for a market perceived as more profitable. It has seen their team sprint across a desert to find a billion-dollar oasis close enough to the strip.
But will Oakland, one day soon, feel what it’s like to be without a team at all?