For those playing at home or who remember the “Thirty before 30” schedule, you’d of course know that last night (Tuesday May 22) was my attendance at the Oakland Athletics (A’s) home game in Oakland California.
Having previously written about the team and stadium, expectations were somewhat tempered, as there was a pretty high benchmark set with the previously attended games at picturesque Seattle and San Francisco.
That being said, I was pleasantly surprised about how much fun I had!
The A’s stadium is the last of a dying breed in the US, in that it hosts not only the Oakland MLB team but also their NFL team (the Oakland Raiders). Given this shared scenario, the stadium had a unique design with lower than average walls in the outfield and many of the seats not running parallel to the base lines (as you see in all other stadiums). Furthermore, branding around the concession stands and on the field includes both the A’s logos and the Raiders – which made for a cool and unique experience.
Also of note, is that 2018 will mark the last time this “shared” set-up will exist, as the Oakland Raiders will move out at the end of 2018-19 season for the bright lights of Las Vegas.
I arrived at the stadium after a day checking out the University of California Berkeley (more on that below), with not one, not two, but THREE large beers to sip in my car prior to the first pitch (don’t worry there would be a sizeable gap before driving again) and a couple of jackets in tow (as the Bay Area was putting on a classic summer day of overcast skies, fog and cool temperatures).
Having seen the amount of cars going into the HUGE parking lot, I thought I was in for a classic Tuesday evening with a raucous crowd – little did I realize, that next door the beloved Golden State Warriors were playing game 4 of their NBA playoff game and 90% of the fans were there to see them do their thing. Not to worry, we all know a baseball players are tougher anyway 😛
The game itself was a beauty, with Oakland building a strong platform with a multitude of hits early on and putting runs on the board in both the 4th and 5th innings. As the temperature dropped, Seattle capitalised on a number of Oakland errors in the 7th, ultimately scoring two runs themselves to tie it all up heading into the 8th.
By now my beer blanket had worn off and I was certainly feeling the cold (I hate the cold), and I began PRAYING that someone would score and it wouldn’t go to extra innings (I also had an hour long drive back to where I was staying in Mountain View – shout out Pat & Sarah again for putting me up!).
My prayers would not be answered, and as the mercury continued to drop and the rain began to fall, I braved it out in my third row seat and watched the game move into extra innings.
I wouldn’t need to freeze much longer, as unfortunately for the home town Athletics the Mariners would reel in a run in the 10th and Oakland were unable to respond, losing the game 3-2.
Despite the temperature, and the small crowd it was an awesome time and reminded me a lot of those cold nights when I’d go watch the Waratahs or Rabbitohs back home in the freezing cold and not get a result – hopefully it turns for the Athletics in the near future too!
Now briefly onto University of California Berkeley: (you might want to play this song as you read to get into the mood).
Berkeley was an awesome little “College Town” North of the main city of Oakland. Much like Oregon’s campus, the school has been built with the environment in mind and there are plenty of trees and even a river running through.
I walked through the downtown area, checked out some of the other sports facilities on campus (unfortunately couldn’t get into the football or baseball stadium), and had a burrito for lunch (which if you know me sat about as well as expected). Check some of the pics below!
They even had a statue dedicated to the great game of Rugby Union Football (although it probably is American Football) and the male bonding only it brings out in those legends who play (shoutout Mosman Whales & Nick Hale).
It was another awesome day on the “30 before Thirty” journey, and it still feels like I’m just getting started. I’m now back in Santa Monica, showered and rested up ready to see an old friend Dodger Stadium for the game against the Padres this Friday night.
Here’s the story so far….
Thirty before 30 