Who is the Oakland A's Number 1 Fan?
by rungood on Mar 16, 2006 10:21 AM PST
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PrintOK OK, I know that many of you flocked to my diary armed and ready to say "I AM!! I AM!!" and in your own right, you may be. In fact, a diary for people to compare the crazy stuff that they've done as an A's fan or to see the A's would be a great diary in itself, so we'll tackle that momentarily.
But what initially inspired this diary were a few videos I found on the net, through Google Video (I searched for "oakland athletics"). What came up were 3 videos, 2 of which were taped game segments from games in 1999 and 2002 respectively, of an Asian guy holding up a bright yellow poster-board sign saying that he was the A's number one fan and he had flown in from Oakland just to see the game. The first was from Texas, and the second from Comiskey park in Chicago.
The videos were hosted on the number 1 fan's website-- crxchai.com, which I checked out, and actually found 3 more videos of the number 1 fan on TV-- from games at the Ballpark in Arlington and Safeco Field.
So, I was wondering...is the "number 1 fan" aka crxchai a member of AN? If so, I give you big props for making those voyages and getting on TV...I used to try at like every game to get on Diamond Vision or on TV...ahh, if only we all could be as lucky as this guy.
With all this being said, if crxchai is willing to fly to games all over the country, make bright neon yellow signs and get on TV, all in the name of the A's, how do the rest of us stack up? Is he really the A's number one fan? I suspect some people on this site might disagree...so let's hear it:
What makes YOU the A's number 1 fan, as opposed to the guy flying all over the country claiming to be him? In other words, what craziness have you engaged in that would earn you the #1 position among A's fans? Or even the #17 position among all A's fans?? (#17 is arbitrary, yes, but still pretty good when you consider how many A's fans there are out there...and growing)
How have you earned your rank among A's fans? Has anyone...
-Painted his (or her!) chest?
-Streaked on the field?
-Made outrageous signs?
-Come to the park in uniform?
-Started the wave?
-Drummed in Left Field?
-Heckled the right fielder? (IBAÑEZ.......IBAAAAAAAAAAÑÑÑÑÑÑÑÑEZZZZZZZ.......)
-Been to every playoff game?
-Met more that 10 team members? 15? 20? The ENTIRE 40-Man roster + Staff + Front office?
OK, OK, you get the point. There's undoubtedly more stuff that people have done that I haven't listed here (for space's sake), like spring training trips, seeing the a's play at every 'away' stadium, etc.
So...sound off AN, I want to hear the ridiculousness! Who is the A's number one fan?
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wow
Exactly...
"In honor of the late Bill King, 'the wave' is banned from the ballpark. Any fans attempting to start or participating in the wave will be subject to arrest and heavy fines."
Actually
I completely agree, the wave is terrible. I refuse to do the wave. I especially hate the waves that start during games that have a one run difference! Terrible!!
by BobbyCrosbysGirl on Mar 16, 2006 11:28 AM PST up reply actions
Does anyone remember the
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I remember
by Athletics fan and runner on Mar 17, 2006 6:57 AM PST up reply actions
that would be SO awesome.
I wonder if we could talk to the A's about this, or who might have access to that or similar images...any ideas, guys and gals?
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The Wave, and what to do about it...
http://www.athleticsnation.com/comments/2005/8/11/135127/914/12
that's pretty good stuff, and
these days, however, the guy/gal who runs around frantically trying to get people to do it is always really annoying (no offense if we have any diehard passionate wave-starters in here), and they don't usually give up if people aren't feeling it...then again, if it's all for the kids, what can I say?
Having studied physics, though, I'm all for destructive interference if it could be managed...and in my experience, the wave has always gone clockwise...
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Only uneducated fans do the wave
by westsideclubbin on Mar 16, 2006 2:44 PM PST up reply actions
what do yOU MEAN Only uneducated...
jUST TO PoinT OUt...
Unless you meant it for a dramatic, 14-year-old-like, effect. And if that's the case then.....
<bAnNeD>
Can I get a supersized order of KrAzEe WaNd action with that, and an Oreo McFlurry?
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According to an old A's beer cup
It must be true
My copy of the bible
Your bible
I prefer
<see below for grammar lesson>
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well those were only examples of fandom
My best stories come from when I was a kid-- when I was 7 and my dad pulled me out of school to go see Ricky try and break the stolen base record, and when Ricky didn't do it in the game we went to (and I missed school for), my dad pulled me out of school again the next day, and Ricky broke it for us!
Another great story (that I've posted before) is from when my family was on a trip to NY and Ricky was playing for the Yankees. My sister and I ran down to the front row of the 'plaza' seats on the 3rd base line and yelled "RICKY!! WE CAME ALL THE WAY FROM OAKLAND TO SEE YOU!!" and he gave us the big thumbs up.
But the crowning achievement in my being an A's fan in my early years was when I was 6, going to Game 3 of the '89 series-- the Earthquake game (but everyone here knew that)-- and then having to drive back to Oakland around the whole South Bay through the whole night. Then going to the game 2 weeks later and seeing Dave Henderson launch 2 HRs and Carney and Jose C providing the rest of the offense en route to a 4-game sweep was pretty sweet.
These days, I just try to see as many A's games as possible, rock my A's hat everywhere, especially to Giants games (even when the G's aren't playing the A's). 4 years of college in Boston meant wearing the A's hat everywhere and talking up the A's, giving Boston people crap about selling out and becoming the Neo-Yankees. But that's about it. I know I'm not #1 by any means, but I'd like to think I'm in the top 1000 a's fans, even if my user ID doesn't say so...
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This is a great diary
Wow, Reg
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given my demonstrated predilections ...
(FWIW coming from a notorious poo-flinger, I tend to think that running onto the field and/or heckling players are less signs of fandom than they are of incipient alcoholism.)
you can't spell 'spelling' without Ellis either
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was it your intention...
lol, if only...
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Diamond Vision
Well back when I was little, like 9 or 10 maybe, my dad was at a game with my brother and they were just watching the diamond vision and all of a sudden a picture of ME pops up with the line up. Apparently, they had taken this picture of me at the last game I had gone to and was using it every so often. Totally random! My brother, who is younger, was not pleased. He wanted to be on Diamond vision. Oh well! It is kinda neat to know I was on Diamond vision when I wasn't even there! That has nothing to do with being a Number 1 fan, just a cool story I thought I would share.
As for being a Number 1 fan, I don't think anyone can just claim that title. It is something that can only be earned after MANY years of service and devotion to the team.
Example would be the little old couple that sits in the section next to me. I don't know how long they have been going to the games, but they are there every time I go. They have season ticket pins going all the way back to the 70's. They sit there and keep score and listen to the radio broadcasts during the games. They are just so cute! They are probably in their 60's, maybe 70's. Every time I see them, I think, this is why I have season tickets. I want to be like them when I get old. Going to the games, knowing the history of the team intimately, cause I was there, LIVE!
They are the kind of people who deserve the title of the A's #1 Fan! They have worked hard for such an honor. Some kid with a magic marker and money for a flight doesn't make him the #1 fan. It just makes him one of the Richer ones!
So I nominate all the little old couples who have been going to the games for decades! Thanks for supporting the team for so many years!
by BobbyCrosbysGirl on Mar 16, 2006 11:23 AM PST reply actions
The last game I saw
On the BART, we met one of her coworkers, who asked us where we were going. I suppose the painted faces didn't make it obvious enough, so I made it clear that we were going to the opera that night.
Green and yellow "A"s
Alcatraz Avenue?
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Number one fan
Number 37 Fan?
This offseason I knit an A's cap that was a total test of dedication. I used #2 needles -- which are really really thin -- so that I could get the A's logo right. And anyone who's done intarsia knitting -- and who here hasn't -- knows that keeping all those balls of yarn untangled is a huge headache.
But the kicker is, after weeks of painstaking labor, when I was done, I realized I had forgotten the 's after the A. So I unraveled the thing to start again.
And I totally agree about the wave. It's goofy and bush-league. In honor of King it needs to be stamped out at the Coliseum.
by SportySpice @ Athletics Nation on Mar 16, 2006 11:47 AM PST reply actions
this actually got me thinking
I guess Oakland A's is like 'sheep' (1 sheep, 2 sheep...not 1 shep or something like that) in terms of singularity-plurality...cuz I could say "Who is your favorite player on the Oakland A's" where the team itself is the A's, and then here I'm essentially referring to the #1 Fan as a possession of the team, not one specific "A."
I think it all boils down to initial misuse of the apostrophe on the part of the team...cuz it's the Oakland Athletics' number one fan, not the Oakland Athletic's number one fan.
So what's up with the notation?? Is our team just bass-ackwards grammatically, or am I just confused?
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good question
Generally, most styles guides say to use an apostrophe to pluralize single letters: hence, A's to refer to plural of A.
And they're inconveniently mum on the possessive of the plural.
Myself, I think it'd look a bit goofy (and introduce a style discrepancy) to use As'. There's also the general rule of underpunctuating and only introducing new punctuation variants to avoid confusion: while you're correct that it's possible (in a Monkeyballish way) to read A's as "belonging to a singular A," in the context it's quite clear that it's meant as the plural possessive.
I think we should go with...
Because you can't spell it without "ass"
haha
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The ' is between the A and s because...
by stomperfan on Mar 16, 2006 4:09 PM PST up reply actions
actually, no, it's not
ok, i fold...
by stomperfan on Mar 17, 2006 2:31 PM PST up reply actions
I join you in your peevishness!
I'm so persnickety, I even insist on typing l'70s and then backspacing over the l so that I get a "smart" apostrophe in the correct direction (if you just type '70s in Word, it thinks you're opening a single quote and slants the apostrophe in the wrong direction).
Where do you stand on the question of apostrophe placement following words that end in s (or, in the case of our blogmaster, z)?
Where do I stand?
But your reaction reminds me of Marlon Brando's quote, "Oh, the horror.", from the timeless classic Apostrophe Now.
Ellipsis Now
you're a maniac!
I can't really believe we're having this conversation on this site, but it just shows that A's fans are well-rounded and intelligent, right? ; )
by stomperfan on Mar 21, 2006 5:57 PM PST up reply actions
I was actually thinking about this some more, and
What I mean is that there are multiple ways of using the apostrophe. For instance, an apostrophe can be used to give ownership to something-- I.E. Monkeyball's poop <flung!>-- but it can also be used as a placeholder to adjoin two words in an effort to abbreviate, mimicking the way the words are spoken: I.E.- he's, don't, wouldn't, isn't, shouldn't, I'd, we've, they're, etc. I could go on. In any case, in the second scenario, the apostrophe rests in the place where you took letters out.
So perhaps we're misunderstanding the use of the " ' "... Granted, I wasn't an English major, but after doing some searching online, my theory was given a bit more credence. From Wikipedia:
So, the question then evolves into, "how do you assign possession to an already apostrophe'd term?" Can anyone think of instances where this has happened? A's' looks really funny, but appears to be grammatically correct. Unless there's some rule I don't know about.
For irony's sake, how about we just change our team name to the Oakland Apostrophes? We could still go by the A's, or maybe even better, the ''s...
<searches for ritalin>
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Here's my interpretation:
Now you could argue that "the record belonging to the A's" should be "the A's' record"...but then you'd just have waaaay too much time on your hands, and then you'd be me.
and me.
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I too, think about such things
You Try
by SportySpice @ Athletics Nation on Mar 16, 2006 12:54 PM PST up reply actions
I believe you, I believe you
did...
Could this be the # 1 Fan??
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"Steroids make my balls shrink...
-Jason "RoidBoy" Giambi
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According to our beloved Hatteburg....
(won in some fundraiser...good idea, I'd bid on that one..)
I thought that Pom Pom was the biggest A's fan?
Playing online multiplayer games may change your: Religion, Sexual Orientation, Race and/or Gender for undetermined periods of time.
this guy? ;)
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I've never seen him at Giants games...
Exactly
by peanut gallery on Mar 16, 2006 1:56 PM PST up reply actions
Anybody know the name
I think he's Japanese.
I've seen him at A's, Giants, Warriors, Niners and Sharks games. Dude is seriously committed to hawking peanuts.
yep
I wouldnt be suprised if that man makes 1,000 bucks a week.
by pickinmachine on Mar 17, 2006 9:10 AM PST up reply actions
Thanks
He works enough events that I can recognize his voice now.
i wonder if this is the vendor I'm thinking about.
But yea, I see the same vendor at every A's game, and he's always hardcore intense, no matter what he is selling. I saw him at a Cal B-ball game once, and have seen him even at non-sporting-Coliseum events... Anyways I always say to my friends, "HEY!! I see that guy EVERY GAME!!"
If this is you Steve Dallas, I salute you. Not a very Japanese-sounding name, though then again, I have white-looking cousins with the last name "Low." So who knows.
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i personally like him better in color
Songwriter, manager, AND concessions guru? Man, this guy is good!!
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Banjo man is a sellout
by westsideclubbin on Mar 16, 2006 3:07 PM PST up reply actions
I've seen him at 49er games
by peanut gallery on Mar 16, 2006 3:11 PM PST up reply actions
My parents & sisters are Giants fans...
I'd need to see photographic evidence to be convinced that the guy isn't just an A's and 49ers fan... ;)
I have a clear memory
by Athletics fan and runner on Mar 17, 2006 7:05 AM PST up reply actions
Yeah,
Speaking of Banjo Man, I can't really imagine him in non-banjo attire...what is he like, do you think? It'd be an interesting exposé...Monkeyball, hows this for your next assignment? I'd even accept an entry in poetry form, if that suits you best. But it's up to you, should you choose to accept this mission.
This message will self-destruct in 5, 4, 3..."
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Does anyone remember
Well, lets just say that I know a little bit of inside information and that the article was not speculation. The same senario has come out of Lew's mouth(without the part about giving the Giants compensation to move to SJ). It is only a matter of when they move to San Jose or Fremont not if. Could it be that Lew gave the story to Purdy?
Again I dont want to say how I know this but it comes from a source with a lot of knowledge about the situation.
by Ben25 on Mar 16, 2006 4:07 PM PST reply actions
Probably dating myself here...
He is
by Duke of left field on Mar 16, 2006 7:53 PM PST up reply actions
He's also the patron saint of the wave
by secret ASian man on Mar 17, 2006 12:59 AM PST up reply actions
We try
by Duke of left field on Mar 17, 2006 8:28 AM PST up reply actions
Just about
by peanut gallery on Mar 17, 2006 10:34 AM PST up reply actions
Crazy George
by Catfish27 on Mar 16, 2006 8:30 PM PST up reply actions
For me
by peanut gallery on Mar 17, 2006 10:33 AM PST up reply actions
Lew Wolff is the A's #1 fan
I won't claim to be the #1 A's fan, but I've been a fan longer than most of you have been on the planet.
My neighbors introduced me to baseball and the A's in 1971 when I was 9 years old. I've been a fan ever since.
Let's Go Oakland!
by Catfish27 on Mar 16, 2006 8:28 PM PST reply actions
Lew Wolff??
As for your A's allegiance, 1971 was a good time to start following the A's. For me being born in '83, I was 5 years old in 88, which was also quite a good time to follow the A's. Getting hooked back then was enough to carry me through the mid-90's as the A's languished in the cellar of the AL West and we nearly had playoff teams with sub-.500 records...I've loved them ever since.
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1971
I remember watching the so-called Triple-A's of the late 1970's. Charlie Finley let the franchise run itself into the ground after his stars left after the advent of free agency.
Finley's failure to fulfill the terms of Catfish Hunter's contract that led to an arbitrator to declare breach of contract was the first big blow. Then commissioner Bowie Kuhn voided Finley's trades/sales of Vida Blue to the New York Yankees and Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers to the Boston Red Sox using his ever-popular "best interests of baseball" powers.
The next thing you know, the A's roster is populated by a bunch of has-beens and never-will-bes, the stadium scoreboard doesn't work, and the only radio station carrying games is the UC Berkely student station that couldn't even be heard on the Berkeley campus!
I saw Craig Minetto's only lifetime win on a rainy evening in Oakland in April of 1979. It was a 1-0 victory over the defending champion New York Yankees, and came on Minetto's 25th birthday no less.
Yeah, those were good times. :D
by Catfish27 on Mar 18, 2006 4:34 PM PST up reply actions
GREAT memories, no doubt.
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technically, Fisher's more heavily invested
no, you misunderstand
Catfish27...
by Chavinator on Mar 17, 2006 12:24 PM PST up reply actions
Gentlemen, we're in the presence of royalty
Tom who? ;)
by Catfish27 on Mar 18, 2006 4:12 PM PST up reply actions
brevity is, indeed, the soul of wit!
i can't believe
#4000-something, interesante...
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I'm not sure ...
does that mean you're
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On opening day last year...
by mrtcereal on Mar 17, 2006 7:12 PM PST reply actions
Being the #1 Fan is hard work
by crxchai on Mar 18, 2006 10:30 PM PST reply actions
Nico:
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is this really crxchai? not so sure.
But my skepticism arises from the fact that you were only the 4th last person to register on this site!
Tempering my negativity, I really do hope this is the crxchai, and not some imposter...that'd be lame.
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I RESCIND MY PREVIOUS STATEMENT!!!
Visit http://www.crxchai.com and you will see what I'm talking about.
Sorry to doubt you dude! So you really went to jail in Texas? That's nuts, what happened? (email me if you'd rather not post it here, I'm curious)
Welcome to AN by the way, hope to see you around more-- and if you really are the #1 fan, you should post a bit on here! Don't just be a lurker... :-D
~rungood
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Thanks rungood
About Texas, lets just say that things got a little heated when we kept hearing "Sit Down Ching Chong!" from a couple of guys a few rows behind us. I guess they were mad that they finished the season in last place. You can see from the Texas videos, my wife and I were a little extra pumped up to be there representing the green and gold.
by crxchai on Mar 19, 2006 11:35 AM PST up reply actions
I don't claim to be
I will say that I was born and raised in NY and never became a yankee fan.
Moved to Oakland and became an A's fan after seeing my first game in '85.
Also, I hugged Chris Singleton after that game 5 and told him we A's fans loved him. He bitterly told me that he doubted it. My mascara was running because I'd been crying. Meanwhile Boston fans were setting off fireworks in the parking lot. (OUR HOUSE!) It was a surreal moment. And I think I scared Chris Singleton when I insisted he was wrong. Poor guy.
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