Oakland A’s fans stage ‘reverse boycott’ at plans to move team to Vegas

Furious Oakland Athletics fans came en masse with a single message to owner John Fisher. “Sell the team!” they chanted thousands of times during the A’s 2-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Friends Brian Guido and Scott Finney of Sacramento left work early on Tuesday because they did not want to miss the festivities a couple of hours away in Oakland.

“I’ve been to only one game this year. I saw this game and I knew I had to come because I knew it was going to be very monumental and would send a message to the owner that this is what the fanbase wants,” Finney said. “They want the ownership to sell the team so they can remain in Oakland.”

Thousands of frustrated A’s fans arrived early for tailgating and solidarity at the Oakland Coliseum before the game to celebrate their team – and protest against a planned relocation to Las Vegas. They called it a reverse boycott aimed at bringing as many people as possible to the ballpark, complete with bright green “SELL” T-shirts.

A season-best crowd of 27,759 was the largest for an A’s game on a Tuesday since they drew 33,654 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in August 2018. Fans jumped up and danced in their seats when Trevor May finished for the save that continued Oakland’s seven-game winning streak.

But moments later, garbage was thrown on the field, and police and security took to the field.

A “We Are Here!” poster provided specific instructions for every inning such as chants of “Sell the team! Sell the team!” for the first Tampa Bay batter in the top of the inning and “Stay in Oakland!” followed by five claps for the first hitter in the bottom half. The drummers in right field made a rare return, too. The wave went on for nearly 10 minutes.

Siblings Leslie Pelon and Clark