A's Fans' FanFest: Join Us at the Oakland Running Festival, March 27

At last year's inaugural Oakland Running Festival, we set up camp at 4th and Market streets, north of Jack London Square, to cheer on runners in the festival's marathon portion. We and about 20 other friends turned it into an A's tailgate party of sorts. We had food and drinks and music while decked out in our A's gear. We celebrated the city of Oakland and supported the runners. We also promoted keeping the A's in Oakland. It was a wonderful event and we had an amazingly fun time -- as did the countless runners who gave us big smiles, a thumbs-up, and a returning "Let's go, Oak-land" chant as they sped by.

Well, we're doing it again this year and you and anyone else are invited. We're holding our very own "FanFest" because if the A's owner aren't going to hold a fan fest, then we the fans will.

Just about every MLB team this winter hosted a FanFest, a day where baseball-hungry fans gathered to get fired up about upcoming season right before spring training begins. The A's started doing FanFests during the great Haas ownership, who smartly turned it into a day where fans can meet the players, get signed autographs, ask their heroes questions during the always popular Q&A sessions. Whetting the fans' baseball appetite also was a perfect way for the franchise to sell tens of thousands of game tickets on the eve of the season. The FanFest tradition continued for years until a couple of years ago when the Lew Wolff-John Fisher ownership inexplicably stopped doing them. It's just one of the never-ending negative things that this ownership has foisted on A's fans since taking over six years ago.

A's fans are tired of not having a FanFest, so we're going to throw our own. Organizers of the running festival said we were a big hit with runners last year, so they've assigned us our own special cheering section. Join us this year at the same intersection -- at 4th Street and Market Street, just north of Jack London Square and the proposed new A's ballpark site.

Let's show once again that the Oakland community and its many A's fans can come together for a great event. We'll be cheering on the runners, as well as enjoying food and drink and prizes. You're all invited -- come one and come all. Let's show that Oakland A's fans are not only the best in the bay, but also the best in the world.

Let's have some fun and cheer on the Oakland runners!

WHAT: A's Fans' FanFest at the Oakland Running Festival
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, March 27
WHERE: 4th St. & Market St. (north of Jack London Square)
INFO: www.oaklandmarathon.com