Oakland

‘It's a happy-sad day': Krazy George, other fans bid farewell to A's in Oakland

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Fans of the green and gold got to say one final goodbye to their beloved team Thursday afternoon.

Oakland Athletics fans, filled with varying emotions, packed the Coliseum to watch their team's last hurrah in Oakland.

Krazy George, perhaps the most popular A’s fan of them all, was among those in attendance.

"This is Krazy George sending the A’s off," he said. "It’s a terrible day but a great day."

The Coliseum is where Krazy George invented the wave during the 1981 playoffs.

"It’s a happy-sad day," he said. "Oh my gosh, I cannot believe it."

Emotional Oakland Athletics fans saw their team take the field at the Oakland Coliseum for the final time Thursday afternoon. Ian Cull reports.

All over the parking lot before the game, fans gathered for a final celebration – a farewell to their Athletics.

"Joy because I’m with my family and sadness because it'll be the last time we’re going to get together like this," Ernie Vargas said.

Former A’s pitcher and current broadcaster Dallas Braden spent much of his morning with the fans in the parking lot, saying thank you.

"I’m where I need to be," he said. "I’m where I should be. This is where I wanted to be."

The Coliseum gates opened early to allow fans to see their favorite players warm up one last time.

"It's somber," Omar Gutierrez said. "There’s a door closing. But at the same time you take solace in the fact that you look around and you see all the green and gold. You see the faithful that are here, that have been here through some very, very difficult times. We’re going to celebrate this team today."

The fans have been coming out to the Coliseum for decades, through the championship years and the years when the team was hard to watch.

"I think that the A’s will always have a special place in my heart," Joshua Gutierrez said. "Even though with everything happening, I think it’ll still be there."

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