Long-overdue golden tribute to Oaklanders
Oakland, this run’s for you. What the Warriors are doing right now, however high they go, and whether or not the players say it in so many words, this run’s for you.
If any folks ever deserved to bask in the fun and fame of a team’s phenomenal run to glory, it’s the good people of Oakland. Because, in a spiritual sense, the Warriors couldn’t do it without you.
I’m not talking about the paying customers at Oracle. I’m talking about all you people of Oakland, whether or not you score tickets, who have not always had the love you give to your sports teams requited.
I heard a story that kind of sums up the indignities Oakland sports fans have endured over the years at the hands of callous and greedy sports-team owners.
The A’s, at Wednesday games, used to sell tickets for $2 and hot dogs for a buck. The rub, according to Ed, a bartender I know who went to a lot of those games, is that on dollar-hot dog night, the A’s would put away half of the condiment tables.
“You had to wait in line 20 minutes to put mustard on your hot dog,” Ed says.
Being an Oakland sports fan means decades of being jerked around by your heartstrings by heartless team owners and clueless (or worse) politicians.
The jerking continues. The Raiders are leaving, but only after two more seasons of sticking their vacuum nozzle down your pants pocket. The A’s are staying, maybe, but only because their every attempt at escape from your city has been foiled.
The Warriors have one foot out the door, bound for the bright lights across the bay. They won’t even have to change their uniforms, though, since the Warriors have never officially represented “Oakland,” even though Oakland has fanatically represented the Warriors for 46 seasons.
These departing teams will leave behind memories and, especially in the case of the Raiders, monstrous debt that you Oakland folks can pay off at your leisure, in lieu of hiring more cops and schoolteachers.
Oakland’s team owners and politicians can’t decide whether to treat you residents/fans as a doormat or an ATM, so they do both.
But what Stephen Curry and Draymond Green and the boys are doing right now, nobody can take that away from you.
Oakland, you are as cool as the Warriors, and you infuse them with your cool. You have the best climate of any big city in the country (by official decree of a government study), the most ethnic diversity. You have urban chic and down-home funk, you have culture and arts and a port and a zoo.
All that, plus a town full of sports fans, in the midst of a vibrant East Bay, would seem to make Oakland an attractive home for sports teams. Nope.
There are some Oaklanders who hope the Warriors win the next two NBA championships, move to San Francisco and sink back to the turgid mediocrity of the old days.
But most of you Oakland fans, I believe, are less hung up on bitterness and more interested in enjoying what you’ve got. Seize the day, seize the moment. You are the most Zen sports fans in the world.
Forget about down the road. Your favorite team, and your favorite player, might be gone next week. You appreciate what you’ve got. Every game is like dropping into a great jazz place. You’ll experience something special, something to keep in your heart and memory, even if that club is bulldozed next week to make way for condos.
What the Warriors are doing right now, whether or not they intend it that way, is in honor of you. Woody Guthrie isn’t around, but if he was he might tell it like this: This run is your run, this run’s a fun one From the Grizzly Peak cliffs, down to funky Ghosttown From your favorite Q joint, to the Hayward fault line The Dubs’ run is made for you and me.
Your great sports teams, Oakland, are like the city itself. They have rocked a unique flavor, character, and characters. The A’s of Billy Martin and Tony La Russa, the Raiders of Ken Stabler and Mad Stork Ted Hendricks, and now the Steph Curry Warriors.
The Warriors, like your city, are laid-back and super intense, so much crazy style but with a deep substance.
A few years from now your Warriors will be gone, leaving behind a building you can maybe turn into the world’s largest Peet’s. But they’ll carry you in their soul. Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @scottostler