“Sell! Sell!” was heard around the parking lot of the Coliseum. As the historic Oakland Athletics’ got ready to play what is perhaps its final Opening Day in Oaktown, there was visible tension in the atmosphere. With the fanbase constantly demanding John Fisher to sell the A’s, the team actually managed to break a big attendance record. In hindsight, they wish they could take it back.

On a day when every baseball lover was celebrating the return of America’s favorite pastime, Oakland was in a different mood. Yes, the fans celebrated. However, their heartbreak was visible too. A protest that gradually started by filling the stadium has now shifted to emptying it. Rows of empty seats filled the Coliseum in the A’s Opening Day game against the Cleveland Guardians. Now reports have emerged that it was a historic low for the team.

The Athletic’s Melissa Lockard reported this information on her X account. She noted that in the game where the A’s lost 8-0, the official attendance figure was 13,522 – the lowest since 1979. For comparison’s sake, A’s 2023 season’s first home game drew 26,805 fans. So in one year, the numbers almost halved for The Green and Gold. 

Is this the lowest Opening-Day attendance ever in the Athletics’ history? No, that would be the 7292 fans the team drew in 1996. But here’s the catch, that game took place in Las Vegas while the Coliseum was being renovated. Other than that we have to go back to the ’70s to the three season openers against the Minnesota Twins for similar attendance. 1972 saw 9,912 fans, 1977 had 12,562, and 1979 had 10,387 fans attending the game. 

This is quite a tragic figure for a storied franchise like the Oakland Athletics. However, one needs to remember that while the attendance figure was 13,522 – almost as many fans were outside the stadium having fun on the Opening Day in their own way.

Oakland Athletics fans’ massive protest shakes the town 

Rows of cars filled the areas around the Coliseum. With banners of “sell! sell! sell!” in their hands, the fans decided to have their baseball party outside the stadium. They set up grills to cook burgers and hot dogs and played a little football. Even kids had joined the party by playing catch with their parents. 

As Inside The A’s Jason Burke wrote, “Outside the ballpark was everything baseball says it cares about.” The atmosphere was similar to last season’s reverse boycott in which the fans filled the stadium and then protested the Athletics’ move to Vegas. However, this time the objective was to cost the ownership Opening Day gate so the fans decided to stay out. 

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Still, it doesn’t seem likely that the move will be called off anytime soon. The team’s lease with the Coliseum is set to expire by the end of 2024. As of now, the sporting future looks bleak for the Bright Side of the Bay.

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