It's a unique opportunity that a professional sports franchise is the focus of a theatrically released motion picture.   I'm sure there's a few examples, but outside of Major League, very few come to mind.  Bull Durham had a minor league affiliate few had heard of.  For Love Of The Game had the Detroit Tigers, but every player seen was fictional (as they were, of course, also in Major League) and the story itself focused entirely on the performance of one fictional character.

Moneyball is a very unique beast.  It's the true sports story of a living and active person, with a supporting cast fleshed out with actors portraying players who were involved in the real life events. It's also a film that can't end with a World Championship.  Much like Major League, the story is about the lovable losers who accomplished more than they were supposed to.  

The Oakland Athletics, an organization much maligned for their failures to make the most of their rich history, and a club that hasn't shown a ton of marketing savvy, come September, will have a golden opportunity handed to them.  

Writer Aaron Sorkin will likely win a screenplay Oscar for The Social Network

No matter how terrible most of his films are, Brad Pitt releases always seem to generate buzz.  

If they can take a break from the Yankees and Red Sox, ESPN will likely devote a special or two to this film. 

If the club can hang in the pennant race until the films release (perhaps a daunting task with only 2 weeks or so left in the season at that point), the Yahoo headlines write themselves.  

So what can the A's as an organization do to take advantage of this truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?

-Midnight showing on giant screen at the coliseum with as many of the real-life participants in attendance.

-Season long promotions.  A bobble-head series of "Heroes of Moneyball".  Tejada in full homerun swing, Hudson in mid-delivery, perhaps Terrance Long with the bat resting on his shoulder. 

The have's in this league have turned their clubs into mini-empires.  Could the Moneyball exposure be the very key to an Oakland Athletics renaissance?  Within 5 years of the opening of Major League, the Indians went from league laughing stock to feared powerhouse who got a new ballpark, 5 straight division titles and 2 trips to the Series and featured Rick Vaughn bobblehead night last season.  

Is any of this likely?  Of course not, what's more likely is that ownership will ignore this movie even exists, a rash of injuries will knock the A's out of the race in August and Moneyball: The Motion Picture will earn 3.5 million dollars and be out of theatres within 2 weeks. 

So this FanPost actually has a point, those kindly enough to have given my ramblings a peak, what, if anything, do you think the club should do to take advantage of the forthcoming media interest this film will likely bring?