Athletics' final night home game leads to security guard-stolen stadium seat fiasco
09/26/2024 04:42 AM
The Oakland Athletics have played their final night home game at the Oakland Coliseum against the Texas Rangers, losing 5-1, one game away from the A’s wrapping up their time in the city. However, the fans’ frustrations at the team leaving Oakland boiled over as a fan stole a stadium seat, leading to a chase with six security guards. Likewise, it was just one instance of fans stealing seats from the Coliseum partly to protest the Athletics leaving the city and to grab souvenirs.
“Six security guards chasing a man with a stolen stadium seat outside the Oakland Coliseum,” MLB columnist Bob Nightengale reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Fans steal seats at Oakland Athletics final home game vs. Rangers
The A’s leaving the city will end a 57-year history that saw the Athletics winning four World Series (in Oakland) and making 21 postseason appearances. On the other extreme, the team also became one of the league’s laughingstocks, with 19 losing seasons of over 100 losses.
Moreover, their departure will make them the first MLB franchise to relocate four different times, though their nearly three-decade stay in Oakland is their longest.
Fans blame billionaire owner John Fisher, an heir of the founders of The Gap, who started the process of relocation within only a few years of the team adopting the motto “Rooted in Oakland.”
However, since buying the team for $180 million in 2006, Fisher has been looking to replace the storied Oakland Coliseum, which has stood since the 1960s.
The team leaving their home stadium obviously didn’t sit well with longtime A’s fans, which could explain why they decided to steal seats from the stadium.
Besides, A’s fans also blasted Fisher’s apology for taking the team away. Even Green Day vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong gave Fisher a piece of his mind.
Additionally, California Bay Area anchor Larry Beil harangued Fisher on live TV while literally ripping apart his apology statement.
After all, the Coliseum has seen three of the MLB’s 24 perfect games ever thrown, and it’s also where Rickey Henderson set the record for career stolen bases. Additionally, the Athletics have won four World Series there–only the New York Yankees have won more championships, with seven, since 1968.
Now, though, the team will take all that history and fellowship with the fans to Las Vegas, where the NFL’s Oakland Raiders also relocated.
The post Athletics’ final night home game leads to security guard-stolen stadium seat fiasco appeared first on ClutchPoints.
