The Oakland A’s and San Francisco Giants renewed their Bay Area rivalry Tuesday night as the two teams kicked off a brief two-game series in San Francisco.
Under normal circumstances, the opposing fan bases would be at each other’s throats. And yes, there were some tense moments as the Giants pulled out a late 2-1 victory.
However, these are anything but normal circumstances for the A’s, whose ownership group recently struck an agreement to build a new downtown stadium in Las Vegas and move the club there. A’s fans have been extremely vocal in their opposition, but they found a new ally in their archrivals as a spontaneous “Sell the team!” chant broke out among the 40,000-plus in attendance at Oracle Park.
The Giants’ television announcers seemed to grasp the significance of the moment, remaining silent throughout an entire at-bat by the A’s Cody Thomas so viewers could make out what the crowd was chanting.
The Giants would have the Bay Area all to themselves once the A’s leave for Las Vegas, but judging from Tuesday night’s display, their fans seem more than happy to continue the rivalry as long as possible.
