Unless I am convinced they did everything to stay and Oakland refused to cooperate - FUCK IT - I'm done.

I refuse to root for laundery alone. I love the A's because I love the game of baseball and I love what the A's represent.

They represent my community - the place where I have lived almost my entire life - that has shaped me, defined me, a place that will always be a part of me, no matter where I might go.

They also represent a history - my history, my childhood, growing up in Oakland is thoroughly interwoven with memories of Mark McGwire, Dave Stewart, Rickey Henderson, Storm Davis, Honeycutt, Hendu, the Eck, Steiny, Gags, Polonia's jewelery, Baines' sweet swing, making fun of "Blankenshit's" name in elementary school, Ernie Young's triple play in Las Vegas, even the likes of the Wizard of Wasdin, Todd Van Poppel, and Ariel Prieto are cherished parts of my childhood memory.

Then as I gew, so did they. We started to develop an exciting young club around the likes of Big G, Miggie, Chavy, Ramon, and, of course, the loveable Matt Stairs. We started to see glimpses of BB's true genius as he brought in guys like Izzy and Ape. Then came the Big Three and our triumphant return to the playoffs. There was nothing like the excitement in 2000. Nothing at all. It was incredible. I was away at college, but you couldn't have torn me away from my TV screen during those games.

But I'll cut to the chase - none of those memories mean anything if they aren't tied to the Oakland A's. If they choose a shiny new stadium in San Jose, Las Vegas, or wherever else, they can do it without me. I'll find myself a nice minor league team to support. Those big money guys can go fuck themselves.