FanPost

The A's are the Best Sports Spouse You Could Ask For

I'm looking forward to falling in love with my A's all over again. - Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Well he did it again. Billy Beane has roped me in and got me excited all over again for the 2015 version of his grand experiment. I know, it's not tough to get me "in" especially since I sort of originated the whole "In Billy We Trust" mantra that the AN foundation was built upon. Plus I've made it really clear that I think Beane is kinda like a Baseball GM God. Sure he's made mistakes in the past but so did the Guy upstairs (I mean rattlesnakes - who needs those things?).

I will tell you that this offseason Beane has gone and challenged my love for the green and gold like never before. I thought it was rough when he traded Dan Haren and let Barry Zito go. But the tough move for me this past offseason was the departure of Brandon Moss. He was kind of my new mancrush in the same way that Erubiel Durazo and Eric Chavez once were.

As with most things, the more time goes on, the more the wound heals. And really, as an A's fan who has been through this kind of thing several times before, it becomes pretty easy to get over it because you expect it even when you don't necessarily expect it. Anyone predict Josh Donaldson AND Brandon Moss would be dealt this offseason?

I sort of think of sports fandom like a marriage. You go through ups, downs and everything in between (.500 seasons?). But you remain committed to those colors no matter what. Yes some people inevitably do divorce their teams but that's not really my MO speaking as someone who has been married 17 years in real life. I'm married to my teams through the good times and bad. I'm going through a horrible hockey season with my favorite team right now (the third in a row) and maybe that's partly why I'm excited for baseball in January.

Yet I view my Oakland A's as the most fun team I follow because they're always changing. It never becomes boring routine. They're the most exciting sports spouse you can have because just when you settle into a routine, they evolve into something completely different. Yes it's out of necessity because of the market forces at work in Oakland but think about how much fun it was watching Brandon Moss become something no one else expected. Or the best example of that being a castoff throw-in catcher named Josh Donaldson becoming one of the best third basemen in all of baseball.

Now we get to learn to love a whole new group. It's like having a spouse that suddenly decides to take you bungee jumping or skydiving after hundreds of nights sitting on the couch watching The Good Wife or Top Chef. Sure you might be comfortable and even enjoy those nights on the couch but finding out there's a daring person inside that spouse of yours can be liberating.

The essence of loving this franchise is embracing the change and the opportunity to find your next Josh Donaldson or Brandon Moss. The heartbreak of last year is still a fresh wound. But our team tried something different that they had never done before heading into the playoffs and I still can't blame them for that. Now that doesn't mean that we're going to love this new iteration of the franchise the same way we loved that comfortable, winning one that we knew and adored. Hell The Good Wife is a great show. And there's a good chance this new and exciting version of our sports spouse might be a little too exciting for us. Maybe it falls flat on its face and loses 100 games (doubtful but always possible).

Look I get it. As humans we basically hate change. We hate moving to new places, adopting new languages, embracing changes in a Web site (boy do I know THAT one) and even more we hate saying goodbye to players that we develop that emotional bond with...we feel like we go through highs and lows with these players. The emotional high of winning the division in such dramatic fashion in 2012 to the absolutely destructive low of the Wild Card loss in 2014.

At the same time, perhaps now was the time for a clean break with that group and trying to move forward with Zobrist, Davis, Semien, Bassitt, Clippard and Phegley. Many of those unknown quantities like Donaldson, Moss and Cespedes once were. But after the emotional torment of losing what we knew and loved, my heart is once again open to love the A's as passionately as ever.

Maybe it's because my hockey team is atrocious and probably should've done the retool a few years before rather than signing the NHL equivalent of Frank Thomas (Jaromir Jagr) and hang on to hopes that it would still be great. Or the cycling season hasn't swung into full motion yet but I'm suddenly finding myself anxiously awaiting seeing what this version of my green and gold sports spouse has in store for me. Are we going bungee jumping? Skydiving? Or maybe I'll be lucky and this group will reward me with the same great television and experience that the past one did. I'm just glad that life with my team is never, ever dull. What more could you ask for in a marriage?