Beisbol, A's Style

Last night, I got to attend my first A's game. I had been told, prior to my trip to the other side of the bay, that the Coliseum is pretty ghetto. Who cares? I am totally familiar with the beautiful, yuppie site of SBC Park. I mean, going to a Giants' game is all about eating good, drinking fancy, microbrew beers and wine, no cursing, no smoking, and definitely, no rowdiness. Sometimes I miss the sight of sport fanaticism. I want to see baseball hooligans. I don't even know if they exist, but when I heard the word ghetto, that is the image I got.

Well, here's my take on an A's game versus a Giants' game:

• A's are amazing this year. Giants are missing Barry Bonds and for some reason that makes the entire team suck?
• 3 dollar Wednesdays at the Coliseum. Why don't the Giants have a special deal like that? Make watching baseball affordable and it makes it even more fun! I mean, come on, haven't you sat in the bleacher seats--I mean cheap seats--at a Giants game? That is were all the action is.
• 1 dollar hotdogs. Yup. That's right. You can buy 10 at a time and that is still about the price of one at SBC park.
• There are young people at the A's games. Amazingly everyone can afford to go!! Imagine that?!
• Tailgating. Since the Giants moved to China Basin, the tailgating option has been cut out. And damn, I forgot how much fun tailgating can be. We watched people shotgunning beers and getting face-painted in preparation for the game.
• The A's have 5 dollar hats and shirts. People are actually selling knock-offs on the bridge between BART and the Coliseum. Since I'm not exactly an A's fan, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and purchase (thanks to wallet of my boy) an A's hat. The Giants don't have this shite. Too many cops or something patrolling the rich peeps. It is amazing what you can get away with at a ghetto stadium.
• The Coliseum. And the view surrounding the sports venue? Industrial nothingness. Actually, it felt very inner-city and prison solid. It rumbled with chanting and screaming and drumming. It was like a literally a bowl of excitement. I loved it.
• The A's beat the Angels. Where's your Disney Magic now?!

I left the A's Coliseum, tipsy, full of food, laughing, and with a little money left in my pocket. I can't wait until I go again.