Bring Your A’s Game has been a whirlwhind. After two weeks I’ve gotten more press than I could’ve ever imagined. This week I talked to Bob Huber at Philly Mag and Shai Ben-Yaacov at WHYY.It’s been exhilarating to build a guerrilla marketing campaign out of thing air. And that’s not even the strangest part!
I find myself suddenly immersed in the politics surrounding the Oakland A’s. It’s like my graduate work has come back to haunt me through my love of baseball. It’s urban political economy at its rawest: the A’s and MLB have everyone over a barrel as they try to leverage the best deal from either Oakland or San Jose. It’s a lose-lose for everyone involved. The A’s new stadium will be costly and it’s not clear to me that it really solves their problem. Can a new building make them the hot ticket when San Francisco has Tim Lincecum?
I’m not entirely sure where this project will take me, but I’m up for a good thrill ride. The mix of blind ambition plus a smattering of concrete goals ought to shape it into something worthwhile, if not entirely transformative. Can’t wait to share my progress!