Cubs' upcoming road series against the Athletics is a reminder of how lucky we are

It’s safe to say Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts did not enjoy a peaceful offseason in the court of public opinion. The Cubs struck gold acquiring All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros, but it quickly went downhill from that point on.

Over the rest of the offseason, ownership would fail to extend Tucker, set to his free agency at season's end. They would also ship off outfielder Cody Bellinger in a botched salary dump, all while digging themselves deeper into a hole with Ricketts’ comments at Cubs Convention about the financial struggle to “break-even”. 

However, come April 4, Cubs fans will flock in the tens of thousands to Wrigley Field to open a new season of Cubs baseball, just as they always have done and will continue to do for many years.

Cubs will head to the Athletics' new home in Sacramento this week

After losing the Golden State Warriors in 2019 and the Oakland Raiders in 2020, the Athletics became the final domino to fall in the tragic sports history of Oakland. The relationship between ownership and fans, especially over the last 20 years, could best be described as tumultuous. 

Ownership claimed their financial struggles were due to a lack of fan engagement, consistently ranking at the bottom in terms of MLB attendance average. Fans retorted that the lack of engagement was due to the little interest owner John Fisher showed in putting a competitive team on the field.   

The 2024 season served as a season of protest from the Oakland faithful, as they were the only team in Major League Baseball that drew under a million fans in home attendance rankings. In the end, it did not matter, as the team set into motion the relocation of the team to Las Vegas.

The Oakland Athletics played their final home game in front of a sold-out crowd of 46,889 people at the Oakland Coliseum on September 26 with a 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers, a storybook ending to an otherwise rocky 56-year history in Oakland.

Las Vegas has quietly turned itself into an ideal destination for franchise relocation. While the Las Vegas Raiders are still looking to find their footing since the move, the Vegas Golden Knights have quickly become one of the NHL’s most successful teams in their eight-year tenure in Sin City.

The A's' relocation may not go as smoothly as Las Vegas predecessors

Ground has yet to be broken on a ballpark in Las Vegas, with the current project aiming to be ready by Opening Day in 2028. In the meantime, the team will spend the next three seasons at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, sharing the field with the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.  

During that span, the team will be referred to as simply the Athletics, with the new identity already presenting difficulties for fans and broadcasters alike.

Nevertheless, the Cubs will take on the Athletics this week for their first ever visit to Sacramento. While it may seem like just another three-game series in April, it serves as a reminder of just how fortunate Cubs fans truly are.

Whatever happens in the series, Cubs fans will still have a team to cheer for at the end of the day and call an iconic ballpark home - just as they have for more than a century. Fans in the city of Oakland can no longer say the same.