Went to see Oakland Athletics this pm. They beat Minnesota 9-1 and didn't need their final innings as they batted second. Their batting was quite awesome, and they scored 5 in the second innings. Minnesota only managed a single home run in the fifth (the Oakland crowd booed this, which I thought was a bit unsporting as Oakland were always going to win - but I suppose that Americans don't cheer the underdog as we English do). The game was meant to start at 1, but didn't begin until after 3 due to the rain. While we waited I got chatting to a lovely couple called Larry and Kathy who live up in the mountains near Yosemite. Kathy said that they get bears coming to the window, which would terrify me. They grew up in the valley and are lifelong As fans - they say that the atmosphere at the Giants is so bad that many Giants fans now come and watch Oakland. I found the same friendly reception when I came to the As before - As fans are great and they're my team ! They will almost certainly now be in the play-offs for the World Series.
I had a good seat, and in front of me was a real all-American family - Mom and Dad and four small boys, all As fans. Mom was such a lively person and dealt so lovingly with the boys. Dad was quieter and focussed more on the game. For me they epitomised the friendly family atmosphere that they have at Oakland - a bit different to when my son and I go to Palace. The English tend to be either middle-class and cold or working-class and loutish. The one English quality I do like (and value in myself) is a sense of restraint, understatement, and self-deprecating humour - you don't find that over here !
The day didn't look promising initially. After breakfast at a Diner on the corner of Sutter and Powell it started to rain, and I wondered whether the game would be on. I wandered round Macy's for a bit to keep dry and had an orange juice in the hotel. I then decided to go to Oakland anyway, and the concierge was very helpful re the Bart trains. So off I went, got my ticket at the stadium (35 dollars), ate some extortionate but nice hot-dogs - and then the rain started up again ! But it stopped by 3 and the afternoon became dry and sunny.
So I've fulfilled my dream of seeing the As again ! A perfect end to the holiday. Tomorrow I shall check out of my room and wander round the local shops. A great CD shop called Rasputin is nearby, so I just might make a couple of last-minute purchases ! Then I leave for the airport after lunch and the flight is due to leave at 18:50. I was pleased this evening to be able to change my seat from a middle seat to an aisle seat - ten hours stuck between two people would have been a bit cramped ! (Woody Allen said that sex between two people can be a wonderful thing - you just have to find the right two people to get between).
My next blog will be back in England in my little Studio pad. I'm not looking forward to the English winter, but I am a bit homesick now. Travelling in the US so much in the last couple of years has helped me to appreciate the good things about my own country - however much Thatcher, Blair, and the Coalition have messed it up.
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