I am a baseball fan. I am also a Michelle Kendig fan.

So, when friend and co-worker Michelle – a lifelong Oakland A’s devotee – mentioned she was taping the final game at the Coliseum on Sept. 26 to watch later, I asked if I could watch it with her. To provide her with some moral support.

She had gone back and forth on whether she wanted to attend the game in person or just watch on TV and cry in the privacy of her own home.

For those who may not know, the A’s are likely playing in Sacramento for the next few years while they wait for their anticipated stadium construction to occur in Las Vegas. Sacramento has the Triple A field for the River Cats; the minor league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants and the major league A’s team are supposed to share the space for a few seasons.

But back to the game.

Michelle did tune it in that Thursday afternoon at work and had it on in the background so she knew they won before we watched the game. And though my allegiance is to that other team across the bridge, I am a baseball fan. This was truly a game I did not want to miss.

Over the years, I have gone to some A’s games with Michelle, whether it was for the Bay-Bridge series, a random middle of the season game when she had tickets, or one of our fundraising games through Relay For Life. We have enjoyed group trips with several people from the office – us Giants fans usually outnumbered the A’s fans – but we always had fun tailgating and being a part of the experience. Michelle knows everyone, from the security guard to the hot dog vendor who had his own baseball card, so our visits to the Coliseum were typically filled with a walk down her memory lane.

Sitting in her living room, watching as the final game played out, we just enjoyed the moment, although with a tinge of sadness. But Michelle and I cracked up when they focused in on broadcasters Jenny Cavnar and Dallas Braden doing an interview with National Anthem singer and former A’s (and Giants) pitcher Barry Zito.

The headrest of Dallas Braden’s chair was cracked and peeling; same for the arms of Jenny Cavnar’s chair. Michelle swore they must have broken in to our office and ‘borrowed’ some chairs. A quick count the next day discovered that not to be true; their chairs just are Velveteen Rabbit-ish, like ours.

The game featured plenty of views of the fans in the stands and the overall mood was celebratory, as everyone embraced being part of such an historic day. There were lots of clips of past glory, iconic home run calls by the broadcasters, a couple of huge blow up baseballs making their way around the stadium, and a few ‘waves’ as well. Half of the clips they showed, Michelle commented: “I was there for that game.”

A couple of crazy acrobatic plays by the A’s defense, good pitching and just enough offense added up to a 3-2 Oakland win.

Though there’s no postseason for this A’s team, there was plenty of love to go around as the ‘green and gold’ saluted their fans one final time. I could feel the emotion as those in the stadium stood as one; a tear fell from my eye when manager Mark Kotsay addressed the crowd and led them in one final “Let’s Go Oakland!” chant. And then, forget it; Michelle and I were both sobbing when they went to the postgame show and broadcasters Bip Roberts and Brodie Brazil could barely get through the first few opening minutes without reaching for the Kleenex.

So, it’s a good thing I went to watch the game with Michelle. I needed the moral support.

Marg Jackson is editor of The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and The Riverbank News. She may be reached at mjackson@oakdaleleader.com or by calling 209-847-3021.