Here i am, facing the reality that my team is uprooting its 'rooted in oakland' via philadelphia and kansas city self and trying to plant itself in the desert. what do i do?
here's my story if you care to read:
In todays world, it almost seems out of place for a sports fan under 35-40 years old to root for a team they are not directly connected too. Often, even if they are they follow a player/players on other teams across the country. Where has the loyal sports fan gone? Free agency has changed it. The internet, tv deals, commercials, sponsorship and league revenue all have contributed.
But im the ol guard, you pick a team, and you stick with them through the ups and the downs. Now that doesn't lead to many Padres fans in the midwest as its good policy to pick a winner if your gonna be sticking with them through the thick and the thin. So here i am, born in Nebraska 1972 and as a young lad its understandable (more understandable to some than others) i grew up a fan of Dallas Cowboys. and as much as the NBA (conspiracy) in desperation to save the league pushed everything into the east coast vs west coast, black vs white, showtime vs the leprechaun, Larry vs Magic, Boston vs los angeles. i gravitated towards the real savior of the NBA in Doctor J and the Philadelphia 76ers. admittedly, i didn't give baseball a commitment too early, as it wasn't until the A's brought back Rickey Henderson that cemented the deal. As the 90's rolled in and my teams were almost all on an upswing the physical defensive minded new jersey devils with the all czech line pulled me in...
Yes the 90's were a good decade but the reality of your teams also hitting the bottom is real. my high school days were marred with the Cornhuskers 'not able to win the big one' (even though the 'big one' always seemed to be vs the national champ) and the Cowboys going 3-13 and 1-15. the historically great Sixers team of 83 had fallin by the way side with the retirement of the Doctor (Julius Erving) and the "Boston Strangler" (Andrew Toney) along with trades of HOF Moses Malone for jeff Ruland and cliff robinson on the same day they traded the #1 pick (brad Daugherty) for roy Hinson only to be followed a few years later by trading 'sir' Charles Barkley for Jeff Hornecek and outdated computer cables (later to be discovered as extension cords without ends)
Im a traditionalist, i have watched many games/hightlights of games i could not possible remember and many that took place before i was born. So the tradition of the 'Swinging A's" the spirit of '67' Wilt Chamberlain led Sixers and the 'next years champion' Cowboys holds real value. I can not for the life of me understand the younger generation of fans than don't care about the history of there team as they don't really have teams past the current players they follow from there fantasy teams. Player is traded, ya buy a new hat. Player retires, ya pick a new player.
I preach, to anyone that will listen (very few) that if you pick a team you stick with them. Up or down, good or bad and the only time you pick a new team is if they hire you or your team skips town or no longer exists. Well here i am, at the crossroads. the Oakland Athletic's, the 'Bash Brothers' the 'swinging A's' are being forced out of Oakland like the Raiders and Warriors before them. And i have a decision to make. i don't live in Oakland, don't have any financial tie to speak of. Perhaps games would be easier to get to in las vegas compared to Oakland but I've seen my teams on the road more than at home outside of the cornhuskers. I have not yet heard of a name change or a make over taking place and that would be vital in my decision. i am a uniform aficionado, so perhaps this little exit stage left by the A's allows a more comfortable transition into dawning other team caps... baseball whore if you will?
Time will dust off my decision as this thing is moving on weather i make up my mind or not. The Athletics making it easy by winning the world series or even A series* this year is facing awful long odds. Perhaps they abandon their long history in Vegas and starting over is inevitable. I put this here on the baseball board as a response to @Black41FlashReverse MLB thread but added the poll to get better read on everyones take. What are your thoughts Husker nation?
Edit* thank you Kansas City
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