Despite their ownership actively trying to push fans away, the Oakland Athletics are clearly a beloved sports institution in the Bay Area. That makes every successive step the organization takes toward a move to Las Vegas in the future all the more heartbreaking.
Especially to the broadcasters who love the team, the fans, and the area.
During a Wednesday night studio broadcast on NBC Sports California, host Brodie Brazil discussed the fallout of the Athletics taking a major legal step toward moving to Nevada. After Brazil finished sharing the news with viewers, he couldn’t help but cry and choke up about what losing the Athletics will eventually mean to fans in Oakland who just love baseball.
.@BrodieNBCS speaking from the heart 💚 pic.twitter.com/mT3jdvpjlF
— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) June 15, 2023
Every second of this speech is gutting. Kudos to Brazil for dropping the “serious” analyzing pretense and just speaking from the heart about something that matters so much to himself and his audience. You can tell the situation is just as frustrating for him as it is for any other Athletics fan, and that’s what makes it even more heartbreaking.
This was how Twitter reacted to Brazil's heartbreaking speech
I’m from Washington. The Sonics relocated in 2008 and we still talk about it with sadness and anger, with nostalgia and love. Watching something beloved go extinct hurts. THIS is the fandom, and the owners don’t care. https://t.co/XEO7VvK4jy
— Kerith Burke (@KerithBurke) June 15, 2023
Man I hate this for Oakland. Even for a kid growing up in MN, the A's were iconic. The uniforms so clean. Rickey. Bash Brothers. Stew. Eck.
I LOVED those teams. Baseball royalty. They weren't just the A's. They were the OAKLAND A's. What a loss this is. Flushing all that history https://t.co/p1WFoRtS9Q
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) June 15, 2023
It was supposed to be here for the rest of our lives @BrodieNBCS
And our kids lives. And their kids lives
We love this team. Our passion can’t be touched. Last night showed it. And your emotions most all of us share.
Brodie thanks for this 💚💛💚💛💚💛💚 https://t.co/sLDvITKdPi
— In it to Irwin it (@thejasonirwin) June 15, 2023
We love you @BrodieNBCS.
We feel your pain.
Thank you for everything you do https://t.co/K6PxU5zsQo— Gabriel Hernandez (@gamer_athletics) June 15, 2023
Our teams matter to us. The reasons are various but our emotions should never have to be explained or apologized for. Feel for this dude and all the A’s fans in the Bay Area. https://t.co/v1cIOhvVVd
— Nick Pierce 🇺🇦 (@npierce84) June 15, 2023
Although I’m a Giants fan I remember many games I went to at the Coliseum whether it be call the Oakland-Alameda, Mcafee, or the O. Co. throughout my childhood coincidentally my first baseball game ever my step dad took me to an A’s game it’ll be sad to see it go https://t.co/ywtbff09sG
— Michael Reeves (@RenoReeves) June 15, 2023
I'm a Giants fan, and I will truly be honest when I say this makes my heart break for A's fans. I'm sorry, Oakland fans. Y'all didn't deserve this. 💔 https://t.co/gIYbY9hmfC
— Robyn Leaño (@robyn_leano) June 15, 2023
Baseball was the first sport I ever loved. It all started with tons of baseball cards and watching the Oakland A's. One of the best memories I have from my childhood was going to an A's game with my brothers and my dad when my sister took her first steps. This is more than a team https://t.co/rb5dQIe7tc
— Hairy Terry McDougal (@MaskofIo99) June 15, 2023
Las Vegas is about to take another team from Oakland first the Raiders now the A’s. I feel terrible for the city of Oakland https://t.co/GczFdoto62
— Jason Hagholm (@JHagholm1) June 15, 2023
