Well That Was A Huge Waste of Time And it just

by Imaseasonticketholder on Apr 5, 2009 6:37 PM PDT Comment 32 comments

miffs me that the A's actually thought that it was okay.

I'm talking about Fan Appreciation Day. How far have our Fanfests fallen? I had a sneaking suspicion that it would be Fanfest Lite, but for crying out loud.

to me, the best part was always the Q & A sessions since you got to speak directly to players & management.

This year, they went all "Robert Buan" on us. You know where Robert has his show on Tuesdays after the game and has a special guest A's player and instead of letting fans call in & speak to the player, we have to settle for listening to his chats with the player ....WHO HE PROBABLOY SPEAKS TO ALL THE TIME INTHE CLUBHOUSE.

So, today, Glen Kuiper had the players seated on the field and he did all fo the questioning. 1st group wa sthe oh so aniimated Bob Geren, Kurt Suzuki & Dallas Braden. Group #2 was Nomar Garciaparra, Mark Elllis & Orlando Cabrera. The final pair was Ryan Sweeney & Matt Holiday. Couldn't get a third guy Glen ?

Initially, you had to have an autograph coupon, but thenthey eventually let anyone go get autographs, probably due to the light attendance.

I dunno, maybe it got better when the guys did their on field drills. But, I remember Fanfests when they had so much for adults & kids alike.

This semed like the mentality was like " Well, since we're still in Oakland, We have to do something. We're not going to invest any time or money in a real Fanfest & since the guys have to work out Sunday anyway, let's call it a Fan Appreciation Day. And since we know that the fans would be furious with this makeshift event, we're not going to charge them anything.

Oh and by the way, the psoter calendar is of good ol' G..

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The final pair was Ryan Sweeney & Matt Holiday. Couldn't get a third guy Glen ?

Actually Giambi came in about 10 minutes late because he was signing autographs. And i wasn’t able to get anymore signatures every time i needed one of those damn coupons.

by robbo650 on Apr 5, 2009 6:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I didn't even go

It just seemed too weird to go to Fanfest when I’d already been to an actual game at the stadium yesterday. The whole point of Fanfest is to lift our spirits in the gray, damp, dreary days of January or February when it seems as if the season will never come.

by Englishmajor on Apr 5, 2009 6:42 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree, and they got good turnouts as well

plus, that was usually the first day you could buy single game tickets.

by OaklandSi on Apr 5, 2009 6:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought the exact same thing

Why should I go today when I saw them play for real yesterday?

There's no crying in baseball!

by gigglingone on Apr 5, 2009 8:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed.

There’s this incredible feeling of ‘baseball is coming’ that it invokes. When it’s already here… eh.

"This must be heaven," he says.
"No. It's Oakland."

by Kyli on Apr 6, 2009 6:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

"fanfest" was awful.

i hope the A’s don’t do this again next year and they bring back the usual fanfest in january next year!

i did not like the workout part of the fanfest at all. i can watch them workout before every game! that was 2 hours of just sitting there watching the players run around and do drills.

it was great it was free but i’d rather pay for things and get to take pictures with or get autographs from players i want.

previous fanfest had such better interaction between players and fans. players use to roam around or be at booths in the westside and eastside club. there was nothing in the eastside club this year and the player photo session at the westside club was only from 11-12:45.

lame.

bring back fanfest in january next year please!

""These guys are a different breed of ballclub." - Twins manager Ron Gardenhire on the A's

by gotgreen on Apr 5, 2009 6:47 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

"fanfest" was awful.

i hope the A’s don’t do this again next year and they bring back the usual fanfest in january next year!

i did not like the workout part of the fanfest at all. i can watch them workout before every game! that was 2 hours of just sitting there watching the players run around and do drills.

it was great it was free but i’d rather pay for things and get to take pictures with or get autographs from players i want.

lame.

bring back fanfest in january next year please!

""These guys are a different breed of ballclub." - Twins manager Ron Gardenhire on the A's

by gotgreen on Apr 5, 2009 6:48 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

oops, sorry for the double post!

""These guys are a different breed of ballclub." - Twins manager Ron Gardenhire on the A's

by gotgreen on Apr 5, 2009 6:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think it was deserving of a double post.

Truly not worth going to. My nephews had fun for a minute in the stomper zone, but all that was left to entertain them with afterwards was food, which, BTW, was not free.

As we exited the stadium there was a boatload of Giambi posters left.

I'm here to talk about the past.

by 67MARQUEZ on Apr 5, 2009 7:21 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Only saving grace

was I was lucky enough to get Matt Holliday’s autograph from my assigned ticket! Other than that I can NOT believe they tried to call this an event for the fans.

Anyone else a little p.o.‘ed that they sold game used stuff yesterday and didn’t replenish it for today?!?!??!?!

Loves those little teams that can.

by SwisherGirl33 on Apr 5, 2009 8:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I thought fANfest in January was just awesome!

Sounds like Fanfest today sucked, though.

If ya want sumpin dun right, ya gots to do it yerself!

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Apr 5, 2009 8:15 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs

Agreed, ours was awesome!

"If I was any more warm and fuzzy I’d be lint." -grover

by baseballgirl on Apr 6, 2009 10:46 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Poochini enjoyed it so much, he decided not to die!

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Apr 6, 2009 12:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes fANfest was great.

Workout day was really boring and really lame.

by fansince1980 on Apr 6, 2009 8:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i didnt think it was that bad

i am easily entertained. I was happy to see Giambi Nomar OCab Holliday in A’s uni’s and Nomar was crushing it at BP

by robbo650 on Apr 5, 2009 8:17 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree

I had a fantastic time! It was a beautiful day got some autographs…..Good times.

by luvsmrZ on Apr 5, 2009 10:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I love for the Beane Q&A

at fanfest in Jan. They better bring it back.

"Their Triple-A rotation, led by Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson, could be better than some big-league rotations; Michael Ynoa is the best Latin American prospect of the decade; 2008 draftees Jemile Weeks and Rashun Dixon bring much-needed tools to an advanced group of hitters." - BaseballProspectus.com

by Syphon on Apr 5, 2009 8:20 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I guess we now know...

how little management thinks of Oakland A’s fans. We aren’t even worth them putting a little effort into making a nice fanfest for the fans.

by IM4Oakgal on Apr 5, 2009 8:43 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Agree/Disagree

Totally agree about the lack of fan questions…however it did cut out all the “____ will you marry me” crap.

I enjoyed the day though. I love BP and workouts and just sitting in the sun at the park. Granted, it could be better, but it was enjoyable all the same.

"There's not a moment of peace and quiet in this damn clubhouse." ~~ Nick Swisher

by luvsthecurveball on Apr 5, 2009 8:52 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Ya just sitting in the sun with garlic fries

Watching long toss was just so relaxing

by robbo650 on Apr 5, 2009 9:21 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps I shall rephrase

For autograph and BP baseball seekers, the day seemed to be a success. For 5 and unders, there didn’t seem to be enough to do, and mine were dying to run onto the field.

But we did get a nice pic next to the trophies.

And yeah, having been to yesterday’s game, and with the opener tomorrow, it was all sort of anticlimatic to me. Although that new in-game reporter they have is kinda hot.

Jason looked old but genuinely happy to be back “home”. Holliday seemed uncomfortable answering questions about that slide to clinch a playoff spot for the Rockies two years ago (as in, ok, random). I got too much sun and can’t wait until tomorrow.

I'm here to talk about the past.

by 67MARQUEZ on Apr 5, 2009 10:46 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I Guess That I AM In The Minority Here:

I enjoyed it better than FanFest, but in a different way.

Actually I think that having both events would be a geat idea. You have the FanFest, in order to promote ticket sales on the first day they actually go on sale to the General Public and then you have a season Kick-off.

I loved that there was NO LINE for the photos with the trophies. I loved that game worn jerseys were selling for $20-30.

I loved sitting in the sun with the wife and kids and watching Giambi and Holliday put on a fireworks display by MASHING balls into the 2nd deck. They Open the gates so late now, that you never get a chance to see OUR stars take BP.

by saintoakland on Apr 6, 2009 10:23 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I'd be all for doing both

and — A’s-a-holic that I am — I would have been there yesterday had I not had a business trip over the weekend.

by OaklandSi on Apr 6, 2009 10:37 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Me too

I’d love to have regular fanfest back. And would pay to attend naturally. But this was a fun day too.

"There's not a moment of peace and quiet in this damn clubhouse." ~~ Nick Swisher

by luvsthecurveball on Apr 6, 2009 5:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

One should never attend anything naturally

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Apr 7, 2009 8:53 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

There are decency laws, after all

Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog

by Flashfire on Apr 7, 2009 8:55 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow, talk about boring

Au Natural baby. Just bring a towel. Those green seats get hot!

"There's not a moment of peace and quiet in this damn clubhouse." ~~ Nick Swisher

by luvsthecurveball on Apr 7, 2009 5:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I am with you

I “probabloy” enjoyed it as much as any other A’s event in the past, except in ‘93, when I got to meet Goose Gossage and Greg Luzinski , got both their autographs, and talked my way down onto the field where I shagged balls in right for 4 hours. Then, at the end, they were handing out staff t-shirts to all the volunteers from whatever company paid to have their staff on the field. I sauntered up to the A’s staffer and asked for mine. They took my address and sent me one 5 weeks later. I still have that shirt! Oh, and I got Lon Simmons autograph, talked him into handing it to La Russa, who signed, also got Eric Fox, Brosious, Horsman, and the Haas family. Good times.

Join PETPT....People for the Ethical Treatment of Paul Thomas

by OptimistPrime on Apr 6, 2009 4:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

FanFests are expensive for teams to put together

Plus, I believe this was a workout session, not fan fest.

In a tight economy, non-revenue generators are either cut or reduced in scope.

Who needs homeruns?

by robber23 on Apr 6, 2009 11:11 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Oakland charged admission to their FanFest

as well as to several of the activities.

They made money on ticket sales, merchandise and food.

Other teams have Fan Fests as well, and consider it a good investment.

by OaklandSi on Apr 6, 2009 1:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not that San Diego is any indicator of how to run a business lately

But they also held a free open workout and autograph session in lieu of a fanfest this year.

www.myspace.com/sixto80

by Sixto on Apr 7, 2009 1:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

No, that was batting practice

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Apr 7, 2009 5:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs