The Coliseum: Love it or Hate it?

Yes, I am biased and yes, the Coliseum is not the greatest baseball stadium in baseball, but this column is unduly harsh on our concrete bowl.

He goes as far as to compare the Coliseum to the stadium in Tampa Bay.

Apparently, Mr. Bradley doesn't realize that baseball is a game that's meant to be played outdoors.

If we're looking at the Coliseum objectively, the truth is that Al Davis permanently scarred what was once a very serviceable baseball facility. The foul territory is gigantic, but that's not necessarily a bad thing with a younger pitching staff. But I don't really think the stadium has the number of awful seats Bradley contends it does.

I feel this way after taking my five-month older daughter to her first game on Saturday. I like the Coliseum despite its blemishes. Do I want a new stadium? Yes. But the Coliseum is, in my opinion, still one of the best places to see a baseball game. The reason? A's fans are some of the most passionate, vociferous and just plain energetic fans of certainly any of the California teams. I mean, I've been to games at all of the stadiums except Petco and I can tell you without question that A's fans are also the most knowledgable. To me, fans count as a bigger part of the stadium experience than the facility itself. Giants fans often sit on their hands waiting for something to happen. A's fans try to will their team to victory.

Any way, I want to know what you think about the Coliseum. I've attached a poll about it below. Click on entry link to vote.

In the meantime, here are some photos from my baby's first baseball game. She did absolutely fantastic and actually seemed to really enjoy looking out at the field. Guess she's seen it enough on TV to know what she was looking at.

Here Maya is thinking, please let them hit it to Kotsay. Lo and behold, they did.

Happy after the victory.

My girls. So beautiful. The first of many Athletics games to come.