Lonely Fan

by CrackBaby on Nov 24, 2006 1:20 AM PST

My name is Isaac and I'm from Vermont. Living in the north eastern United States sometimes it feels like there are only two teams on the planet, the Yankees and The BoSox. It is amazing how hard it is to find someone who isn't a fan of either team. Whenever anyone asks me what team I root for they always seem shocked and suprised when i passionatley answer "only the best team in baseball, the Oakland A's!" The most often response is "are you from cali?" After I say no and tell them I' a Vermonter comes the Question I want to discuss today. "WHY ARE YOU AN A'S FAN?"] So here is why I am an A's fan.

1. Consistancy
The A's if anything are consistant. They play good baseball all year. They go through there ups and downs but always end up in the playoffs. Maybe this is bad to say outloud for fear of a jinx but the A's every year have an amazing ability to always end up on top in their league.

2. Bash Brothers
I was a child of the 80's and that meant only one thing. I grew up watching one of the most amazing A's teams in the clubs history. Conseco and MacGuire, Ricky Henderson, Dennis Eckersley just to name a few. How could you not fall in love with that team. (as long as you ignore the roids)

3. Billy Beane
I can't say much but I can say that someway somehow every year this god of a GM builds from a scramble of looked over players a powerful team who can contend on any field.

4. The Real reason
When i was 4 or 5 and first discovered baseball I learned of two teams the yankees (my brothers favorite team) and from a penant on my neighbor's wall my soon to be beloved A's. I being the typical younger brother wanted to be different from my brother so i chose the Team on the penant forever sealing the fate of my passion, love and sometimes pain that I feel for my beloved A's.

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i discovered the A's

when they beat the Reds in '72. I was, and still am, a big Pirates fan, and after the Reds beat the Bucs in '72, I was really hoping the A's would kick their ass (and they did, and the A's became my American League team). Since I moved to Oakland (from Pennsylvania) I have been a season ticket holder.

I feel for you. You must be the only A's fan in Vermont. My brother has a fahm there, and when I've visited all I've ever seen is Bosox, Bosox, Bosox.

by Brian in 317 on Nov 24, 2006 7:32 AM PST reply actions

The A's Dynasty of the 70's

...is also where it began for me. Something about the players and uniform colors that struck me as larger than life.

Have you had a chance to see them at Fenway? Welcome to AthleticsNation. By the way, how did you come up with your AN name?

"I've been accused of using too many words...I suppose that's like accusing Mozart of using too many notes." Bill King

by Gerard on Nov 24, 2006 9:43 AM PST reply actions

Come on down to Boston sometime

We get together occasionally for some A's-watching.

Stat Wonk Futurist

by salb918 on Nov 24, 2006 10:06 AM PST reply actions

member of the Bash Brothers generation

My name is John and I live in NC. I am a product of the Bash Brothers generation, and I am so glad that this forum is available. I'm new to it, but this has recently become my favorite website. I've been an A's fan for 18 years now, and I will always root for the green and gold. I still remember my first A's game, I was 10 years old, and I remember seeing my heroes for the first time, Canseco, Mac, Rickey, the Eck, and Stew. I actually had the privilege of meeting Stew in person, and he is so nice. Anyway, living on the East Coast, I've had my share of late nights watching my guys play, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I am so glad this website is here. I hope to meet alot of great A's fans along the road.

by cansecofan33 on Nov 24, 2006 10:55 AM PST reply actions

Bash Brother Generation....

I moved to Vermont from Cali when I was 9. It was the worst because I couldn't get the score/boxscore until 2 days after the game because they were late games and I didn't have cable.

So where in Vermont are you? I grew up in Vergennes.

"Don't you play the flute, Huddy?"

by capper3 on Nov 24, 2006 11:10 AM PST reply actions

v.t.

i grew up in the north east kingdom but i live in burlington now. I was working in shelburne with a bunch of people from vergennes.

Lil Bastard

by CrackBaby on Nov 24, 2006 1:02 PM PST up reply actions

Burlington

that's a pretty crazy town...I remember being there when I was maybe ten, after taking a boat ride across Lake Champlain with my family, on the same day as a Phish concert...that whole walking mall area was an amazing scene. Everyone was draped in tree branches and shit, lots of people wearing nothing besides that...I had very little idea what the occasion was, but I tucked a leaf between my ear and my Nike hat (those used to be all the rage) so I could fit on on some level, lol. Returned a few years ago; unfortunately the day wasn't quite as eventful as the first visit, with neither Phish nor the majority of the University of Vermont student body present (summertime), but there was still a lot going on for a city of what, 40,000 people.

"We don't want haddock and chips, we want cod. In cod we trust." --Ghostigital, the pride of Iceland

by Cutthemullet on Nov 24, 2006 5:16 PM PST up reply actions

I have no great story that makes me an A's fan.

I was born and raised in a place that had precious little baseball on offer (Australia), and in which the only fledgling pro league they ever had was purchased by Dave Nilsson for $5m, then shut down a year later when he got bored with it. So growing up, there was no natural team for me to watch, and thus no great story about what made me a fan of a given team.

But I have plenty about what drove me away from other teams.

First game at Dodger Stadium, a 16 inning pitcher's duel that played to an almost empty stadium after 1/3 of the crowd left between the 7th inning stretch and bottom of the 9th, then half the crowd left by the 12th, then the rest were long gone by the 14th. By the end, as the Dodgers won, the players applauded the fans who stuck around. Sad scene, and that was me gone. LA fans suck.
Stuck in Cincinnati for a year through work, I went to nearly every Cincy home game, watching then GM Bowden rip apart any semblance of potential with dumb trades and merciless salary-cutting, all the while pumping half his payroll into the increasingly immobile, if not continually injured, Barry Larkin. After the 18th or so one-run loss without witnessing a one-run win (and some of those losses coming despite being 4 runs ahead going into the 9th), I realized there wasn't a damn thing about the ballclub that I actually liked, and as Bowden started talking of trading away Griffey (who had come back to his home team with a HUGE salary discount a year earlier), I was done. I mean, heck, when your favorite player is Kelly Stinnett, it's time for a change.
Colorado Rockies - Dating a girl from 'Rado, I spent a few months going to Rockies games, and I think I saw more home runs in that few months than I have in the 4 years since. The fact that the Rockies gave up more of those dingers than they hit didn't help, nor did the 'we're here for homeruns, not baseball' attitude of much of the crowd. Yick.
Toronto Blue Jays - I wanted to love the Jays. I really did. But you can only be yelled at so many times to "make some nooooooooooise" when your team is down by six and your bullpen is stocked by guys that wouldn't crack Oakland's AA pen. That, and astroturf is hideous. And when the team changed their logo and nickname to try to bring in the 'youth basketball market', well there goes any allegiance I ever had.
Seattle Mariners - Out of geographic convenience more than anything, I gave the M's a try for a while. Seeing Ichiro gunning down runners at third from deeep deeeeeeep right field was enough to make you a fan forever, but watching the team owners sell off EVERYONE else on the team, for crap coming back the other way (Carl Everett? Please!), while ditching guys like Olerud simply because they would save money doing so... well, that sucked. And continues to. But even before then, I could never support a team that had Bret Boone as a major part of its lineup, so they never caught on with me. Seattle has one of the best stadiums around, so I still go whenever I'm in town, but their owners make Jim Bowden look like he has a clue.

So why Oakland? Because my local minor league team is affiliated with them - period. That's why I started paying attention, and it kept my attention long enough to witness the genius of Senor Beane, the class and humor of the A's clubhouse, and the tenacity of the players assembled to make something out of every season, even if it's a rebuilding year.

When I play baseball video games (High Heat 2002 stands the test of time, yo), I manage the team I'm running a certain way - searching for underpaid value, developing talented kids, and offloading guys that ask for too much money. No easy options - and to find a MLB team that works the same way, well that hits me right here.

(points to heart)

A's for life. Unless they sign Bonds.

"It's time to blow this team up." - Oaktoon, July 2006

by Ozzz on Nov 24, 2006 11:38 AM PST reply actions

I think that 's the greatest story...

...I've heard from an A's fan (tongue planted firmly in cheek). Actually, I thought you liked the A's b/c their colors are seen in combo at many olympic events represented by the Aussies.

Regarding Bonds, you mentioned it a couple of times about your loss of allegiance if he comes on board. I would have to think when the A's brought Canseco back for the last time, his situation wasn't much different than Bonds. I really dont think we're getting him, but overaged former steroid junkies is an undervalued commodity these days. If Bonds gets indicted (only a matter of time) Magowan will be laughing in the direction of Oakland should it occur on the A's watch. It's nothing this team can't handle in the bigger picture but the fact is Bonds isn't around for too much longer anyway.

"I've been accused of using too many words...I suppose that's like accusing Mozart of using too many notes." Bill King

by Gerard on Nov 24, 2006 10:08 PM PST up reply actions