Idiots Write About Sports

Last week, I mentioned in passing the A’s truly horrible 1979 squad. Almost on cue, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a story on the awful Bay Area sports scene circa 1979 with a good deal of attention paid to the Swingin’ (and Missin’) A’s.

At the very least, you owe it to yourself to gaze upon this file photo of the 653 brave souls who bothered to show up for the April 17, 1979 game against the Seattle Mariners.

They may have been a bad team (in fact, I'm fairly sure they were), but I have to respect the fact that when only 653 people showed up, they stayed focused enough to win the game. Okay, it was a game against the nearly-as-bad 1979 Mariners (67-95), but it was still a win.

As jerky as it sounds, being one of those folks might have been kind of fun. No lines in the bathroom, the ability to stretch your legs ...

Then again, I'm the type of person who routinely fantasizes about having the free run of empty public spaces.

Spoken like a woman who's been to the Coliseum for an A's Pyro-Spectacular Night.