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Oakland Athletics fans have been planning their reverse boycott of the June Thirteenth game against the Tampa Bay Rays all year, and it's finally time. Fans will be packing the stadium to show the team's owner, John Fisher, and the rest of MLB that they are still passionate. It isn't that they are unwilling or unable to support the team, they just want to see a franchise that is trying to win.
Reports are now claiming that there have been nearly 25,000 tickets sold ahead of tonight's game. With a total capacity of around 32,000, this will be the highest-attended Athletics game in years. It's a shame that it has to be a part of a protest organized by the fans to try and prevent the team from moving.
The recent development in total ticket sales so far was shared on Reddit, and it's fair to say fans are excited about it.
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The Oakland Athletics have not been a genuinely great team in a very long time, and fans are begging for a change. And they want that change to happen where it should, in Oakland, not in Las Vegas. The team can be sustainable in Oakland, and the fan passion is clearly there, as this demonstration proves.
This was a logistical marvel to pull off, considering how many fans this story must have reached. It was organized by independent fans, who have now packed the house for what is ultimately a meaningless game against the Rays. However, it won't be meaningless for the tens of thousands of fans in the stadium.
Fans around the league are voicing their support for the reverse boycott. Even fans of teams like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox can understand the need for this. Their teams will never be at risk of being moved, so they can only imagine what it would feel like.
The Oakland Athletics are throwing a hail mary to save their team, and only time will tell if all this effort matter at all.
Is there any scenario in which the Oakland Athletics do not move?
The Athletics' move to Las Vegas has felt inevitable at times, but no more. There have been issues in dealing with the Las Vegas City Council that could slow, or even thwart the move. This fan action could draw some very unwanted attention to the way John Fisher runs his team.
There never was much hope of this plan working, but there are some thanks to the passion of these fans, which cannot be denied.
