Distressed Oakland A's fans share "Last Dive Bar" Coliseum memories ahead of possible final Opening Day
With baseball's Opening Day just a few weeks away, you could say the Oakland Athletics are the most controversial team in baseball. The A's are playing at the 60s-era Coliseum for one more year and after that, their future remains uncertain even with the announced move to Las Vegas.
For longtime fans, not knowing what is in store for their team is heartbreaking, and one group of fans has taken the shared distress and created a business around it.
Since the days of the Bash Brothers, Bryan Johansen has loved the A's. So when a 2020 New York Times article bashed the Oakland Coliseum, Bryan took the negative things they had to say and turned them into a positive.
"They compared the Coliseum to a dive bar," Johansen said. "When all the other teams were like cocktail lounges. I saw a line in there that said, 'baseball's last dive bar' and so we made a banner of that. Little did we know that it was going to go viral."
Not only did it go viral, but it became profitable for Johansen and his two other partners. Their business, Last Dive Bar, started creating banners, merchandise, and calendars, all inspired by the Coliseum. They even organize fan experiences, like last month's fan-organized Fans' Fest.
"it was magical," Johansen added. "It was estimated 15 to 20,000 that was there. You had past players, all the Oakland teams that were there. Over 60 vendors, community members."
Some said it was the best fan fest they've ever been to and sadly it could be their last. After 2024, the A's don't have a place to call home. Will fans travel to Sacramento, Vegas, Salt Lake City or support the team at the Coliseum for the next four years, knowing a new Vegas ballpark is planned for 2028.
For loyal fans, this process is agonizing.
"It's horrible. It's like living in a nightmare," said Johansen. "Where the person that you love the most doesn't love you back and you are forced to live with them."
Despite the pain, Johansen's message to fans is to keep hope. He thinks a lot can still fail in Vegas and wants fans to continue to highlight the deficiencies of the ownership group in hopes it will keep the A's rooted in Oakland at the Coliseum where they belong.
Last Dive Bar's next event is an Opening Day Boycott. Fans are planning to gather in the Coliseum parking lot but are not buying any tickets - they want to hit team owner John Fisher where it hurts and that is his ability to generate revenue.
