A's "Reverse Boycott" Game is Missing From Streaming
In this story:
Yesterday, Friday, June 13, was the two-year anniversary of the "Reverse Boycott" game at the Oakland Coliseum, where the Oakland Athletics took on the Tampa Bay Rays. The purpose of the event was to prove that A's fans would show out, but that they have been purposefully been staying away due to owner John Fisher's lack of investment in the team over two decades in charge.
The evening was a rousing success, and is a top-five moment at the Coliseum for countless fans. The key memory for those in attendance came in the top of the five inning. The plan, while it seemed impossible, was to get the crowd to go silent when the Rays came up to bat. After about a minute, they'd come to life with the now-infamous "Sell the team!" chants.
That's exactly what happened. The roar of the crowd was immense, especially following the silence that had preceded it. The A's ended up winning the game, 2-1, stretching their winning streak to seven games. Closer Trevor May said that the atmosphere was comparable to a playoff game in New York, which he also had some experience with.
For those that were hoping to re-live the moment on the anniversary this year, they were greeted with a missing link to the game footage.
What's peculiar here is that games that have been aired on Apple TV, Peacock, or ESPN are all available in the days leading up to, and following this game. So if the games that you need an extra subscription to watch live are available, why not the Reverse Boycott game?
Something seems off--and it gets even weirder.
When you click on "A's Cast" to listen to the radio feed, it's linked to the previous day's game, which is James Kaprielian going for the A's, and Zach Eflin for the Tampa Bay Rays.
That said, both the condensed game and the highlights from the game do go to the correct date, and there is some brief footage of the top of the fifth, but nothing to do with the crowd noise whatsoever. In fact, if the Rays hadn't scored in that inning, it likely wouldn't have made the video package.
The crowd noise is audible, and there are plenty of "Sell" shirts right behind home plate and in the stands, but the crowd noise is somewhat drowned out by the commentators, and the camera tends to focus on the action on the field. The highlights provided don't really highlight what actually happened in Oakland, California that night.
Nearly 30,000 fans gathered at the aging Coliseum for what could have been the last moment of pure joy watching this team play ball. Just a couple of months before, the franchise had announced its intentions to uproot the club and move to the desert in Sin City, leading many of the fans that had still been attending games to stop completely.
The date that was chosen was on purpose, selecting a Tuesday night game against the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that doesn't have a lot of traveling fans. About a month prior, the A's had drawn just over 2,000 fans on a Monday evening, so to see that place packed one more was truly special, and showcased the passion the fans still have for this team.
But now, because Major League Baseball and the Athletics don't want to look bad, the game is unavailable to watch on the subscription service people pay for to watch games. This one in particular will have to live on in the memories of A's fans.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
Follow byjasonb