First look at Oakland A’s fan cardboard cutouts at Coliseum

Fans aren’t allowed to attend Oakland A’s games at the Coliseum this season, nor at any MLB parks, due to the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing guidelines. But rather than play in front of an empty stadium, the A’s are filling the stands with cardboard cutouts of their fans, which can be purchased for various prices at the team’s website. Click here to order your own.

The A’s announced their Coliseum Cutout program a few weeks ago, and now the first batch is ready to take their seats. Here’s what they look like:

This gives us an idea of the general concept, and also some interesting individual examples. There are a couple standard photos, and another standard one with an enthusiastic pose, but we need to talk about the other two. The pretzel mustache is definitely a winner, as it’s just the right amount of fun and creative — it perfectly represents a fan goofing off and enjoying themselves at a baseball game.

Finally, we have the dog photo, which I should have expected and which will always be an excellent choice. I’ll have to seriously consider doing that with my little Sonny Greyhound.

Here’s what the cutouts look like in their seats.

And a panoramic video to show off the whole scene.

That came out about as well as could have been reasonably hoped. Sure, it has the eeriness of walking through a room full of mannequins, or perhaps a wax museum after closing time, but there’s no getting around that. For what it is, this is nicely done, and I think it will be more interesting than a sea of empty seats. (Insert cliche joke about Coliseum attendance during normal seasons.)

A familiar face got a prime location — it pays to be the team’s equipment manager!

This is a tough time for everyone and it’s going to be an awkward baseball season, so it’s easy to appreciate an attempt to insert some personality and whimsy into the world. And it’s going to be a blast watching these things get nailed by foul balls.