In the hopes that the move doesn't create in irrevocable schism among A's fans, I think it's exactly this sort of appreciation that can do it.  Wildly pro-Fremont or rabidly anti, I'd hope that all A's fans take some time today and over the next 36-60 months to appreciate what we've had here (and still have, for now).

However, I think Marge Schott also gets a lot of votes in the crazy owner contest.

We still have at least 3 years to play in the Coliseum. I think the death march is a little premature.

Good Diary though.

I go back to Catfish, Vida, Reggie, Bando, Rudi... and that great ballpark in the photo at the top of your diary.

Mt. Davis sux. I'm very disappointed that it ever came to that.

And I hope to be able to enjoy Saag's sausages from the concession stands at Cisco Field, maybe even with a shorter wait in line.

Awesome diary....One of my favorite I have read on this site.  The picture of the Coliseum before that ridiculous Mt Davis bring back a ton of fantastic memories for me.  I have actually only been to 2-3 games in person there since that, but hundreds before that.....I miss the bleachers and view that used to be there.  

I think a lot of the Oakland dwelling contingent would be better served to look at it from this perspective, rather than the "F*ck you A's and f*ck you Lew Wolff" perspective.

As excited as I am that this new transition could spell a more dynastic A's franchise, and perhaps a World Series Championship or even a string of them, CiscoField will never light me up like sitting in Mt. Davis during Ramon Hernandez's walk off bunt or along the first base line for Scott Hatteberg's 20th win streak walk off home run did.

brought tears to my eyes. What a lovely tribute.

I want to add another remembrance, one which I hope will persist in Cisco Field--the energy the bleacher fans in general and LF drummers in particular bring to the Coliseum.  

Thanks, saint and Duke, for bringing the energy every night.  Along with the drummers v 1.0, you make the Coliseum an intimidating place for opponents to play.  I hope the new landlords help you keep it going.  They should know that anything George Steinbrenner doesn't like is good for baseball :-).

well done jeepers

1971, My dad taking me to my first game and sitting on Charlie O the mule. We won 7-0 vs. Milwaukee.
1972, A's clinch the west, toilet paper flying off the upper deck.
1976, bat day, Hank Aaron hitting one of his last homeruns.
1979, Rickey's first game. He did not even have his name on his jersey.
1980, Billyball...wow
1986, Dave Stewart beats the rocket 2 to 1.
1987, the beginning of the bash brothers.
I could go on but I admit I have mixed emotions about the move, but I am happy they are staying in the area.

My memories of the A's before 1999 are pretty general... being  able to go on a lark to the ballpark and watch a game, walk up and get great seats or even better, great cheap seats (ah, 317).  Not caring TOO much if the A's lost because I got to spend a sunny day outside watching baseball.

And then when the current playoff roll came on, feeling so lucky that I could still walk up and get great cheap seats to watch the best young team, and even get playoff tickets without much trouble.  What a special time that was, one which no one could expect to last.  Like some obscure band you've discovered which will eventually hit the big time or dissolve, so went the Moneyball A's.  And in the same way, many of those early fans will never be satisfied again.

I've written on many an occasion arguing that the Moneyball window is closing. I believe the A's need to become a top-third payroll team to remain competitive in the 2010s and I believe Beane and Wolff saw the writing on the wall.  

I'm a little nostalgic for The Little Team That Could and the strange clutch of fans that supports it. But I'm also fascinated to see what new ideas are around the corner. The new ideas they are bringing to the park construction/financing/design are exciting and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

My childhood team, the Expos, were dissolved for no reasons other than incompetence and greed, leaving no legacy and becoming just another meaningless club.  If I'm losing the Little Team That Could, at least it's in the service of finding the next frontier and continuing to break all the rules.
 

and remember "studying" in the bleachers on day games, watching Rickey, Murph & Armas.  The iceplant ruled.  And all the stuff since, well chronicled afore.  Yeah, going to games at the Coliseum will be greatly, greatly missed.

What a great diary, jeepers...  :)

and wonderful sentiments.

These next couple of years will be odd ... we'll have all of the same great experiences amid the impending change.

Once the move happens, we'll (or at least I'll) be able to get to know the new __ A's of Fremont. Until that happens, while they're still the Oakland A's soon to be of Fremont ... it'll just be weird ...

Here's my contribution ... my player of the year for every year since I've paid attention to baseball (no player may be named more than once).

1987. Big Mac -- my first A's memory was sitting on the stairs in the house of my childhood, listening to Bill King call a Mark McGwire homerun.
      
1988. Luis Polonia -- my mom's favorite player and my first experience with loss in baseball.
      
1989. Carney Lansford -- usually the cap'n gets blamed for the loss, this time he gets credit for the W.
      
1990. Stew's best year, he was robbed 267 ip, are you kidding me?
      
1991. Rickey -- too much to say about him, but Saint's diary just about said it all.
      
1992. The Eck -- I wish I could have given him 1990, but 1992's MVP performance wasn't bad either.
      
1993. Todd Van Popple -- the great white hype. He actually wasn't bad as a rookie, posting a positive VORP but he never learned to harness that stuff and he never really got better. It would take a while before the A's would. Oddly, the first time he posted reasonable numbers (out of the 'pen) was the first time the A's would return to the playoffs.
      
1994. Mike Bordick, Brent Gates, Stan Javier, Geronimo Berroa, Ron Darling and Steve Ontiveros -- Decent players all. They'd make fine roleplayer on a championship team ... they were our stars.
      
1995. Terry Steinbach -- He belongs in 1996, but there's now way EY could go anywhere else. The second to last player left from the championship teams ... well, except for Rickey and Canseco's returns.
      
1996. Ernie Young -- I don't know why ... I just like the guy. He kind of epitomized my beloved Las Vegas A's.
      
1997. Scott Brosius -- Rock bottom, a 61 OPS+ and 65 wins for the team. Better things were on the horizon for both the player and the team.
      
1998. Matt Stairs -- The best player on an offense that included Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, Rickey Henderson, Ben Grieve and Mike Blowers. Beer for a homer, Matty!! Beer for a homer!! (unfortunately, I was 17 and couldn't buy him the 26 beers he earned)
      
1999. John Jaha -- arguably the best scrapheap find of BB's tenure.
      
2000. Tim Hudson -- second in the Cy Young and kind of the guy that marked the turning point for me as the A's returned to the playoffs.
      
2001. Jason Giambi -- An OPS+ of 202 ... are you kidding me?!? Plus he was just so cool back then ... the bastard.
      
2002. Scott Hatteberg -- there would have been no 20 games without Dad.
      
2003. Miggie Magic -- that was one offseason where objectivity sucked. I loved Miggie and didn't want to see him go. That said, it was clear to me Chavvy was the better investment. Boy, oh boy, I sure am glad BB followed the numbers instead of my heart.
      
2004. Eric Chavez -- the year it all came together ... until it was smashed apart by a fastball.
      
2005. Huston and Duke share this with Ellis -- every now and then you've just kind of got to dump a few in.
      
2006. The Big Hurt -- there was something different last offseason from the moment Frank's signing was announced. That man is huge.

Honorable Mention
Zito, Hendu, Honeycutt, Storm Davis

Man, I've seen some great action at the Coliseum since I first watched a game through the slats in the fence beyond the bleachers, sitting on my bike(that game was Rickey's return as a Yankee).  

I remember when I took my Mom to the yard (must've been about '86 or '87).  Being one who'd spent most of her live baseball games at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, my Mom was very impressed, exclaiming "What a beautiful ballpark!" (Polonia hit an inside-the-park homer in that game). I still think the Coliseum is beautiful.  Mt. Davis ain't beautiful, but I go for the game.

My favorite memory though is a general one: just the beatific feeling as I'm walking into the ballpark to my seat in 317 on any summer evening from 1998-2005.  Last year just wasn't the same... kicking us out of the view level was the beginning of the end of the love affair.  I really am feeling like a jilted lover these days.

Nice diary, Jeepster... thanks for putting it out there.

in the name will be a football team who used to be called the LA Raiders (the only major franchise, that is).  I feel your pain, Emperor Nobody.  Oakland is all the things 66th Hegenberger says she is, and she needs her A's.  Vida Blue, Billy Martin, the $2 bleachers, my sis baking cookies for Lon Simmons and Bill King, walking off the BART bridge just in time to see McGuire's final Grand Slam in Green n Gold, heartbreaking 10-0 loss to the Angels at the end of 2004, followed by fireworks and "More than a Feeling" blasting on the PA...Oakland: not only is there no 'there' there, but soon there won't be any Krazy Klown hair there.  Nor crazed Rangers throwing chair there.  I fear the crowd at the new park will be more Anaheimish than Oaktowny: more sub-urban than urban; gentrified and, well, whiter.  And for that I weep. I can't wait to hear the loudest ever 'Let's Go, OAKLAND!' chant on opening day 2011 in Fremont.

Seems like that was the only laudatory adjective that hasn't been used yet, so "tremendous" it is.  The memory I have to offer has nothing to do with the sacred location but everything to do with the affinity I developed for the team...

--early 2003.  I'd been vaguely rooting for the A's for a couple years, but the passion level was suddenly ratcheted up severely one nondescript Thursday when I went out to the mailbox to retrieve my then-favorite source of reading material, Sports Illustrated.  The top strip of the magazine revealed that a book excerpt was contained inside...eh, I usually didn't find those special features too interesting, most times they were excerpts of books revisiting times past, times I'd never visited in the first place.  This one caught my eye though: it was from a soon-to-be-released book that went behind the scenes with the front office of none other than the Oakland A's.  I must have read that excerpt 5 times.  I must have read that entire book 5 times.  As I stated in my profile info when I first signed up for AN v 2.0, I am a Moneyball convert.  Along the way, though, I've come to appreciate much more about this franchise, the majority of which I've learned through AN.  The A's can move to Fremont, but this place isn't going anywhere.