Fansided

Ranking the best in-game experiences for each MLB team

By Joshua Sadlock

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 29 : Freeze races during game one of the 2019 Major League Baseball London Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees on June 29, 2019 at West Ham London Stadium in London, England. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 29 : Freeze races during game one of the 2019 Major League Baseball London Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees on June 29, 2019 at West Ham London Stadium in London, England. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – MARCH 28: Mike Fiers #50 of the Oakland Athletics throws the first pitch of the game to Kole Calhoun #56 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the top of the first inning on Opening Day of Major League Baseball at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on March 28, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – MARCH 28: Mike Fiers #50 of the Oakland Athletics throws the first pitch of the game to Kole Calhoun #56 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the top of the first inning on Opening Day of Major League Baseball at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on March 28, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Oakland Athletics: The drummers

I will happily go on the record stating that going to watch the Oakland Athletics play at much-maligned RingCentral (seriously, that’s the sponsor now) Coliseum is actually one of the more underrated experiences you can have as a baseball fan. Everything that has been written outlining the fatal flaws of the only multi-purpose stadium left from the golden age of municipal cookie cutters from the 1970s is correct. There are no redeeming qualities to be found in the Coliseum from a structural standpoint.

But a fan experience doesn’t always have to be about the building. Sometimes it can just be about interacting with your fellow baseball fans and watching the game. That’s what you get in Oakland.

While it is losing a bit of its edge as the tech scene spreads across the bay, Oakland is still the grittier city in the Bay Area. When you ride the BART from San Francisco to Oakland you know you’re not in Kansas anymore as soon as you come up out of the water. The parking lots surrounding the Coliseum are ringed with barbed wire.

The A’s fans don’t get quite as crazy as the Black Hole, but everyone who is at the stadium is totally invested in the team’s success. This is not a place you go to be seen or to fiddle with your phone during every at-bat. There is a real intensity and genuineness to the fandom.

Right field is where it’s at in Oakland. Fans have drums, cowbells and flags and live and die by the A’s. They’ll happily welcome anyone who wants to sit down for a few innings. The row and seat on your ticket is a loose guideline of where to sit once you get in the doors, so if you’re in the Coliseum for a game, go meet the crew in Section 149.

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