I fought it. I fought it as long as I could. But it was calling to me. It was seducing me. It was teasing me. I couldn't refuse any longer. I mean, I'm a man, dammit! Well, here's the story:
I was born and raised in California. My mom was a big Dodger fan, my dad a Cardinals fan (he was born in Missouri). I was a faithful Dodger fan until 1981 (even though they are, to this day, my national league team). But then, Billy Martin came to Oakland. Billy Martin was one of the best, and most volatile managers in major league baseball. His fights with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner were (and are) famous. I started paying attention to the Oakland A's...and what a team they had! Rickey Henderson, Tony Armas, Dwayne Murphy, Mike Norris, Rick Langford...my loyalties...changed. It was then I became the A's fan that I am today. Now throughout the years following the A's has been fairly easy. When living in California, you have pretty fair access to the games via radio or tv. When we moved to West Virginia, that changed. I was pretty much limited to what the Register Herald provided as well as whatever cable company was running things in the area. Then, the cable company began providing the "MLB Extra Innings" package. This package gave me access to a ton of games from almost every major league team. I would get about 20 - 25 A's games per season. Then, DirectTV started carrying the package and Suddenlink did not. I like my cable and did not, and still do not, wish to go satellite.
So, for the past 3 seasons, I have been limited to whatever ESPN or the other cable channels would carry....virtually nothing on the A's. Every now and then I'd get a game on ESPN if they were playing the mighty Yankees or Red Sox and I could get audio from the games at mlb.com...for a price. The probem with that is that the A's, being a west coast team, begin most of their games at 10:05pm eastern (7:05 on the west coast). Now I'm more than willing to stay up late to watch the game, but to just listen? My alarm goes off at 3:30am, so suffice it to say....
During spring training, I did some investigating and found out that mlb.com had a package that offered live video feeds of every single major league game. It only cost $14.95 per month (almost $90 dollars over the course of the season). Well I'm pretty much a stingy s.o.b. (ask Lola) and I would absolutley not pay that for access to my beloved A's. But then the temptation began. And, after only 2 weeks into the current season, I gave in and bought the package. I'm so weak.
So now I can watch the A's every day. As soon as my account was verified, I went to the A's game that was in progress and watched them lose to Toronto 1-0. But I also have access to every game, so now I can also keep tabs on the Mariners, Angels and Rangers to see how they do as well (hey, we're ALWAYS in a pennant race). So before you call or text me, check the schedule and see if they A's are paying at that time. If they are, just leave voicemail...I'll get back to you.
So, in closing, I am a little disappointed in myself. Not enough to cancel my account though. In the words of my 15 year old daughter Mackenzie "don't judge me!"
Rick out
