The Oakland Athletics played their last MLB game ever in the Oakland Coliseum on Thursday, defeating the Texas Rangers, 3-2. Numerous memories were associated with the venue, ranging from Reggie Jackson's heroics to Scott Hatteberg hitting a walk-off home run to extend Oakland's legendary 20-game winning streak (which inspired the movie Moneyball). All of this ended because of one man: John Fisher.
The owner who arguably has the most punchable face in sports made his plans to leave the Bay Area a while back. It started with little things such as running shoestring budgets and not renovating the Coliseum to the point where floods occurred regularly and possums living inside the stadium. You read that right, dear reader. Possums.
Now, Fisher and the Athletics will attempt to compete with Bill Foley and the Vegas Golden Knights for the almighty dollar, hoping to take the crown of the premier sports team in town. However, Foley's not the only franchise the A's are dealing with: The Las Vegas Raiders and their passionate fanbase also reside here and they travel well.
There are many reasons why the Athletics won't become an instant success like the Golden Knights have. It begins with the contrast between both owners and how they operate. But Golden Knights fans won't feel the same love for the (allegedly) local baseball team beyond that. What reasons could Vegas hockey fans have for not caring about the A's swingin' their way to town?
The success of the Vegas Golden Knights in recent years starts with Bill Foley and getting big names
John Fisher has galvanized a reputation as one of the cheapest owners in sports. He's traded away key players before they were set to get a big contract, with the list becoming longer than one of the grocery variety. Think of stars like Matt Chapman and Matt Olsen, to name a few. That alone has put him in the same foul air as other mediocre owners like Daniel Snyder and Fred Wilpon.
Compare that to Bill Foley, who's worked effortlessly to acquire the biggest names in the NHL. Players like Jack Eichel, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Noah Hanifin have made their way to T-Mobile Arena, giving Vegas Golden Knights fans something to be excited about. He even promised a Stanley Cup in six seasons (which he delivered, by the way).
Fisher and the Oakland Athletics can try to paint themselves as a Las Vegas-friendly team to locals. But the shoestring budgets and lack of stadium renovations will still be there, frustrating Las Vegas locals as well. In turn, they'll experience the same pain that Oakland residents did. Speaking of which...