OAKLAND, Calif. – When you walk out of the BART station outside the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, you start to get a sense of what the city is about. You see people of all different colors and backgrounds, young and old, laced in green and gold, their only desire to cheer on their team and have a great time doing so.

As you get closer to the gates, you’ll smell the beer and tacos from vendors outside the park, and hear the sounds of the East Bay. Whether it’s Too $hort’s ‘Blow The Whistle’ or Kendrick Lamar’s iconic hit ‘Not Like Us’, the city’s pride seeps through its pores.

This is Oakland.

After 57 seasons and four World Series titles, the Coliseum will host the final A’s game on Thursday as the team will play in Sacramento for the next three or four seasons before moving permanently to Las Vegas. Since the decision to leave was announced in April 2023, there has been an ongoing battle between the team owner, John Fisher, and the city of Oakland. Unfortunately, those who paid the highest price are the fans, who are now seeing their third and final professional sports franchise leave the East Bay.

But when you walk through the Colosseum, you don’t feel the atmosphere of an oppressed fan base. It’s one of a fanbase that celebrates the culture they’ve created, regardless of decisions beyond their control.

The same energy can be felt in the Colosseum. Even the people who work on the margins, who you wouldn’t blame for being upset or bitter, are still positive. The people are friendly and courteous, helping those who just want to spend an evening in the park enjoying baseball, despite the knowledge that the end of their tenure – and that of their team – is fast approaching.

The people in and around the stadium – people like Eric Raliegh – are the ones who helped make this iconic stadium what it is. Raliegh, 64, has been a security guard at the Coliseum for 34 years, and 33 of those years have been spent right behind home plate, interacting daily with players, reporters, broadcasters and fans. He has seen what this ballpark means to the people of Oakland and what the franchise means to its fans. For thirty years, he has had a front-row seat to a lifetime of baseball memories.

“It’s emotional,” Raliegh told Yahoo Sports. “Dave Stewart, Rickey Henderson, Dave Henderson, Jason Giambi, Nick Swisher – I could go on. Eric Chavez… they all show me love and come back to see me because I’ve been in the same place. Mark Kotsay played in midfield when I was here and now he is the manager. How they treated me here, man. It’s special.”

Raliegh’s love for Oakland and his A’s runs deep. Although he has been manning his post behind home plate for decades, he also has a full-time job. He takes the PTO with him to work on the baseball field. But his time at the Coliseum isn’t just a job; it’s a passion, something he feels blessed to have – even if only for a few days.

“It’s hard to talk about it. For me, Sacramento won’t be the same. Even if I went there to work, I can’t handle all this there,” he said, gesturing toward the lively ballpark. “So this is pretty much the end for me.”

Baseball creates new fans every day, and one of the young fans spending their final days at the Coliseum could one day play in the major leagues. Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner was once one of those kids in the audience. A native of Oakland, Hoerner grew up attending games at the Coliseum, and at age 6 he started playing organized baseball at nearby Greeman Field, which sits in the shadow of the Coliseum.

“I was there for Coco Crisp’s walk-off against the Tigers in the ALCS (2013). It was my first taste of playoff baseball,” Hoerner told Yahoo Sports. “I remember no one left the stadium forty minutes after the match, everyone just hung around.

“That was special for me to see and just cool to see so much excitement around baseball in general. They had taken the sail off the upper deck; it was full. It was loud. Just a really nice moment to be there.”

The fans who packed Mount Davis the years the A’s reached the postseason are known as some of the most intense and loyal fans in baseball. From the drums that echo through the ballpark to the unique sound of the vuvuzelas, there is a distinct feeling at the Coliseum that is unlike any other ballpark.

When Brent Rooker came to Oakland in 2023, he was a player looking for a home after playing between three teams in three seasons. When he got the chance to play every day for a team that was rebuilding, he also rebuilt himself with the A’s and transformed into one of the best hitters in baseball.

But even before he played his first game in green and gold, Rooker had some idea of ​​what it meant to be an Oakland A.

“I played here as a visiting player and I knew the passion the fanbase had for their team,” he told Yahoo Sports. “Obviously the history, the legacy and the expectations that come with playing for this organization.”

Rooker, who was thrilled he wasn’t traded at the July deadline, finally found his baseball home in the East Bay. The A’s All-Star has become the cornerstone of a young team that has not only surprised this season, but has been one of the best in baseball since July 1.

“I got the opportunity here that I’ve been waiting for,” he said. “I’ve been able to establish myself a bit and really transform my career. That is something that will continue to influence me for the rest of my life. … As far as the city and the fans, they have embraced me and made the last two years an incredible experience.”

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Even amid the bright lights and big moments, MLB players notice the little things. And when you play 81 games in one place, what stands out are the people and personalities that make the experience of playing in the big leagues even more special. Those who have played in Oakland or had the opportunity to play against the A’s often talk about how supportive the fan base is.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay has experienced that firsthand, first when he played four seasons in Oakland in the early 2000s and now when he called the Coliseum home as skipper.

“To me, you don’t appreciate the consistency of walking out here and seeing people like Eric (Raliegh),” Kotsay said. “I could go on and on about the people, the quality of people in this stadium who work here, who care about this place. As a player you miss that sometimes, and if you come back here now as a manager, those relationships and constants will certainly be missed.”

What has happened in Oakland over the past decade is truly a sports tragedy. The city of Oakland first lost to the Golden State Warriors, who crossed the bay to San Francisco in 2019. (Any Oakland resident will tell you that San Francisco is not the same as Oakland.) Then they lost the Raiders to Las Vegas in 2020, and now they’re losing another franchise to Sin City.

“I think with the Warriors and Raiders already gone, it feels a little more real,” Hoerner said. “Just because I think East Bay has already been through that a little bit.

“Even though they were never the fanciest stadiums, it was really cool to have all three of these franchises in the same parking lot. Just great fan bases for all those teams, and (I have) a lot of great memories.

And the A’s departure isn’t just a loss for the city of Oakland. It is also a great loss in baseball history. The A’s are one of the more iconic franchises in sports, with countless Hall of Famers, MVPs and World Series championships. Now the legacy and tradition of this city and its stadium will be a thing of the past.

“Just knowing that this is the last home stand and this is going to be the finals, with the Yankees and Rangers in town, we’re going to have the place packed with 25,000 to 30,000 fans like we used to,” Raliegh said.

“But just to see the people from the last few days – the photographers, writers, people who always came here – coming back one last time, people who came to me, and I’m talking from twenty years ago… It’s emotional .”