This article was jointly written by Hailee Miguel and Jessica Kleinschmidt.
Note: Opening Day experience brought to you by eDraft's own Jessica Kleinschmidt and Hailee Miguel. Be sure to catch them along with Ashley Eisenberg on "Ladies Night" presented by eDraft Radio every Thursday from 8-9 PM EST every Thursday.
Is there anything better than Opening Day? The start of a new season and the opportunity to be at the ballpark and watch your favorite team take the field for the first time that season. The A’s fans crowded the O.co with their green and gold and had a blast despite another loss.
It was a great day for baseball and A’s fans showed up early and stayed late for Opening Day. The sun was out, the weather was great and it just felt like baseball season as fans packed the parking lots and lit up the BBQ’s for annual tailgates. For A’s fans, opening day isn’t just about baseball, it’s about reuniting with a family, or fAnily, and gathering for another year of great baseball. It was great for us to spend some time together, meet some twitter friends, and watch our favorite sport with our favorite team.
As fans headed into the coliseum they received a magnetic schedule, somewhat of an opening day ritual in Oakland, as well as a gold rally towel that they waved proudly throughout the entire game. The team always has great pre game ceremonies; the announcement of the starting lineup and roster is always great to see. Hearing their names called, seeing Josh Reddick, accompanied by his beard, with the fireworks glaring on the field means the season has finally arrived.
A moment the sold out crowd won’t soon forget was the unveiling of the "2012 AL West Champions" banner in left field. The organization had longtime season ticket holders and fans welcome the team as they were announced and a few lucky fans were able to unveil the banner.
The fans were in it from beginning to end, and the Bernie Lean was in full effect. The guys took the field and the fans didn’t stop cheering them on until the last out of the bottom of the ninth. A’s fans always keep the faith.
Despite a great pitching performance by A’s ace Brett Anderson, they lost 2-0 to King Felix Hernandez and the Mariners as the offense just couldn't get anything going against the King nor could they deliver the big hit when handed an opportunity, plus having a guy like Michael Morse on your side (which by the way we were 100 feet away from him, and he is still a huge guy), does not exactly give us confidence when he already has three bombs this season. Concluding, the A’s now have nine straight Opening Day losses.
Even though the A’s lost, Opening Day is always fun. Amazing atmosphere, sold out crowd, and A’s baseball; what’s not to love?