The A’s could draw more Sacramento fans by giving us more than crumbs | Opinion
Right now, the Athletics are showing their love for Sacramento in the smallest of gestures.
In the months before the A’s season opener, they unveiled a patch of the Tower Bridge that players wear on their uniforms in honor of their stay in Sac Town. At the first A’s home game at Sutter Health Park, they gave out free trucker hats with that patch on the front. Since then, however, fans have been yearning for more of the patch and gear that showcases our community.
After one game, a woman holding a child offered to pay $20 for my friend’s A’s trucker hat that she was wearing. We both laughed, thinking it was a joke, but this lady was stone-cold serious. My friend declined and we went on our way. There is a clear desire from Sacramento to have more gear that celebrates our city.
Because with each game, the pride from Sacramento A’s fans grows.
The Athletics are Sacramento’s for now
During the top of the seventh inning of the A’s April 26th game against the Chicago White Sox, the crowd began to chant “Sacramento,” a moment that signified the community’s desire to be recognized by the team and organization. It was the same game where they unveiled their basketball jersey giveaway. The jersey’s design is pretty simple, with the obvious green and gold, a 25 on the back, and the popular Sacramento area code 916 at the bottom left of the jersey. It’s a tiny design that tells fans what the A’s organization really thinks of them, a tiny stop in their quest to move to Las Vegas.
The community of Sacramento deserves to be more than just a tiny part of the A’s. The 916 on the jersey should’ve been much bigger and much more visible.
The same day, I went into the team store to see how much Sacramento apparel I could find. I saw a crowd of people surrounding two shelves of A’s hats. One row was the dark green hat with the white A, and the other had hats that were green and gold.
Both had the Sacramento patch, which was the reason for the cluster of people.
You would’ve thought it was Old Navy on Black Friday, but it was just a Saturday at Sutter Health Park.
In that entire store, the only thing that had Sacramento on it was the main attention for fans looking for gear to wear. The scrum for these hats has to do with the frantic nature of the A’s apparel cycle. Fans are left to think this patch might be the only thing they’ll get to rep their city.
And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but where’s the capitalist spirit? Any A’s gear that has Sacramento or Sac Town would never stay on the shelves. Why not capitalize on this moment?
Seeing $20 for 2 tickets deals has led me to believe that Kings and Sacramento River Cats owner Vivek Ranadive is not too happy with ticket sales. The answer to getting people to the park is creating a culture that attracts people who live in Sacramento.
The more people see more gear featuring Sacramento, the city that they live in, the more likely people will want to be apart of the experience. I know that Ranadive is smart enough to realize that. Not every away team has fans like the Yankees or Giants. At some point the Sacramento experience will need to shine.
Sports do a lot for communities but a vital function is elevating a sense of pride through apparel. When someone sees an orange SF they easily associate it with San Francisco. That is the calling card in which most Americans associate with that city.
Each game, the fans’ Sacramento pride will grow. It’s up to A’s ownership to decide if they want to cultivate our community pride because the crumbs they’re doling out won’t be enough.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
