Oakland A’s Fans “Reverse Protest” Grabs Nation’s Attention

Author Michael Cohen

June 14th, 2023 2:04 PM

While we fans here in New Jersey have been spoiled of late with all of our local winter teams (Rutgers, NJ Devils, Rangers, Islanders, Knicks, and Nets) made the playoffs this spring, and, we are in the midst of another Subway Series this week between the Mets and Yankees, some 3,000 miles west in Oakland, California, something very unique happened Tuesday night.

Close to 28,000 Oakland A’s fans packed the Oakland/Alameda Coliseum Tuesday night to “reverse protest” owner John Fisher, who is busy making plans with the state of Nevada and the city of Las Vegas to move the team there.

And it appears very likely that come the later part of the decade the A’s will call Las Vegas home. The Nevada State Senate passed a bill to approve a stadium built off the Las Vegas strip by 2027. The A’s will join their former co-tenants, the Raiders who left for Vegas in 2020 in Sin City. Suddenly Vegas is the sports capital of the world with the Golden Knights having won the Stanley Cup the same night A’s fans were protesting in Oakland.

And the protest was wild. The verbose crowd was loud and in unison chanting, “Sell the Team.”

The fans got so loud in their chanting that starting pitcher Hogan Harris couldn’t hear his pitch com. The A’s have basically played in an empty stadium eerily similar to the COVID season of 2020 since fans have not been attending games because of their anger and disgust until last night.

Of course the fans had to really ruin their moment by throwing trash onto the field.

The A’s did win the game however, 2-1 over the Tampa Bay Rays. Hey, the A’s are hot, they’ve won seven in a row.

Obviously seeing teams move is nothing new. It happens in every sport. It’s been a long time since a Major League Baseball team has moved. You’d have to go back to 2005 when the Montreal Expos left for Washington D.C. after MLB took control of the franchise for a brief amount of time during its final days in Montreal.

More recent team moves in sports have happened in the NFL with the Raiders, Rams and Chargers left their cities for Vegas and Los Angeles, respectively.  Fans in Oakland were not happy the Raiders left for Sin City. They were even more upset in San Diego when the Chargers bolted for LA.

Probably the most infamous move of a team in any sport of all time had to be when Art Modell moved the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore following the 1995 season. Yeah that became a thing of legend. The old Browns, now the Ravens have two Super Bowl titles to their name. The current Browns … yeah … you know how that worked out so far.  With  the A’s on the precipice of leaving for Vegas, it feels like Oakland fans are as bitter and angry as Browns fans were nearly 30 years ago.

Lost In Translation: 7 Commonly Misused Phrases

• “I could care less”

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  Here's a phrase that's used to show you don't really care about something. But here's the thing about saying "I could care less." When you say it, it accidentally implies that you actually care a little bit. The correct version of this common saying is "I couldn't care less," meaning you don't care at all. If you could care less, that means that you care at least a little bit. (golubovy/ Getty images)

• “Nip it in the butt”

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  Ever heard someone say, "nip it in the butt"? Well, turns out that's not quite right. The correct phrase is actually "nip it in the bud." When you "nip something in the bud," it means you're taking care of a problem early on, before it gets worse. But "nip it in the butt"? Well, that doesn't really make any sense. It's just one of those funny little mistakes that somehow made its way into our language. (Deagreez/ Getty images)

• “Butt naked”

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  You’ve probably heard people say "butt naked" when they mean someone's completely naked. Well, the correct phrase is actually "buck naked." Next time you want to describe someone in their birthday suit, remember it's "buck naked" instead of "butt naked." (Deagreez/ Getty Images)
• “Statue of limitations”

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  A phrase that gets mixed up quite a bit is "statue of limitations." The correct term is actually "statute of limitations." It sounds pretty similar, but it's not about a fancy sculpture. It's about a legal time limit for taking action. The mix-up between "statue" and "statute" is one of those things that just got lost in translation somewhere along the way. (Georgii Boronin/ Getty Images)

• “Case and point”

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  Many people mistakenly say "case and point" instead of the correct phrase “case in point.” "Case in point," is all about pointing to a perfect example that backs up what we're saying. On the other hand, "case and point" doesn't really make sense. It's one of those common mistakes that has become surprisingly widespread. (Dima Berlin/ Getty Images)

• “A doggy dog world”

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  A phrase that gets all jumbled up quite often is "A doggy dog world." The actual phrase is "A dog-eat-dog world,” which describes a world where everyone's out for themselves, and it's super competitive. The mix-up could possibly happen because "doggy" sounds similar to "dog-eat-dog." or because of "Doggy Dogg World" from Snoop Dogg's 1993 debut album, "Doggystyle." (Viktor_Gladkov/ Getty Images)
• “Flush out”

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  “Flush out” or Flesh out?” The correct term is actually "flesh out." When you "flesh out" something, you're adding more substance or filling in the details. It's like giving it a fuller, more complete picture. But "flush out" could mean actually flushing something out, like a toilet. (Deagreez/ Getty Images)

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Author Michael Cohen

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