A's Welcomed Back to Coliseum by Sold out Crowd

Life has meaning again.

No more will Friday nights be spent sitting at home with the sister, wondering what to do. No longer will there be debates with the boyfriend about what to do on a Sunday afternoon.

No longer will the jerseys emblazoned with green and gold be stuffed in the backside of the closet where good clothes go to die.

Why, you may ask?

Baseball is back in business in Oakland and it doesn’t get much sweeter than that.

The home opener took place on April 10, to a sold out crowd at the coliseum, and sure they dropped the ball (pun intended), but it was thrilling, touching and just down right one of the best nights at the ballpark. The Seattle Mariners pretty much sucked, but the Athletics sucked worse.

It was a game of horrible, mediocre baseball—but there were a few things that made the night an unforgettable one. For starters, the opening ceremony was touching and emotional.

The Athletics held a ceremony in remembrance of the four Oakland officers killed in the line of duty in late March. A procession of 50 Oakland police officers came onto the field, surrounding the diamond as A’s players Jason Giambi and Eric Chavez presented a memorial plaque to the acting chief of police.

Then rather than having the usual opening pitch, the four hats of the officers killed were placed on the mound, each with a baseball—and there was a moment of silence.

They also had a group of 50 or more officers from Fairfield hold up a large American flag and present two of the officers’ motorcycles with the lights running. There was not one person in the stadium in their seat.

And the most amazing part of the rest of the night was just the fan support. It was brilliant to see the coliseum sold out—although leaving the game was a nightmare.

Fans showed up with renewed spirit after an ugly season last year. There were fabulous women donning their green and gold tinsel wigs, fans with their cowbells and overall a sense of not only excitement, but also hope.

The loss, sure was ridiculous, stupid and completely disappointing—but they have a whole season to redeem themselves. It’s baseball time again and who doesn’t love a night at the coliseum?

But seriously, who doesn’t heart Oakland?