By Frank Gomez

e-mail: thebasr@gmail.com

The marinating stage is finally over and the Golden State Warriors, namely Joe Lacob & Peter Guber, have decided that the East Bay is no longer good enough for their production and they are going to be moving on. They would like to take their talents to San Francisco and build a new state of the art arena on piers 30 & 32 by 2017. A crazy timetable to say the least but one that they feel that they can accomplish even though piers 30 & 32 have had a Siren like history. Luring all those  who’ve come before to it’s ample surroundings and then dashing their lucrative hopes onto it’s rotting wooden pillars just ask Larry Ellison and the others who’ve fallen victim to the Pier’s siren calls.

Maybe I was fooling myself into thinking that the new Warriors brass would wait a bit or at least more than a year and a half of ownership before making the inevitable move to San Francisco. Even though all the evidence proved the contrary with any special announcements, signings, or coach hiring always taking place on the other side of the Bay Bridge and never once batting an eye at the fact that they played in the East Bay. Granted when you buy something for $450 million dollars, you can pretty much do whatever you like wherever you like with it but just make sure you don’t sweep aside the fans that got you that valuation.

At this point, I’m just one of many who’ve given their opinion on the move from Oakland to San Francisco and whether or not it’s the right move for this team at this point in their history. So I’ll take my shot at trying to encapsulate the sentiment of the East Bay on the eventual loss. Joe Lacob & Peter Guber still can’t “read the room” when it comes to the Warriors fan base, at least the East Bay portion. They talk about being fans and being right there with “us” with the ups and downs of the team but its a fallacy. Neither has grown up in the Bay and had to root for the Warriors during the lean years after Run TMC, the Webber debacle, or the Speedy Claxton era. Not to mention the good years before my time during the early 60’s and to late 70’s.

In my opinion, all they’ve known of Warriors fans is that they are gluttons for punishment and have continually supported a subpar mediocre product in spite of everything telling them that they shouldn’t. In particular, East Bay Warriors fans have rooted for this team even in the face of fiscal hardship and constant belittling for still having the gumption to do so. This statement isn’t meant to pit Warriors fans against each other or denigrate other fans in different parts of the Bay. It’s more about the fact that the Warriors played in the East Bay and now that they are looking to make a turnaround under new ownership, apparently Oakland just isn’t good enough anymore even though it’s been good enough for over 42 years.

The Warriors playing in Oakland has built up the fan base’s character and heart through a trial by fire and brimstone no matter what side of the bay you come from. But the heart of a fan base just doesn’t grow on trees and once you pull it out of the chest of the community there’s no going back. As Marcus Thompson eloquently stated,

“People know Lacob and Guber are not East Bay guys. They knew the lure of the grandiose across the water would overpower the niche the Warriors’ had in Oakland. And that is OK.

But in their pursuit of the extravagant, they missed an opportunity to appreciate the simple and pure, to give much-earned props.

Maybe there is no nice way to say good bye but there’s got to be something better than Lacob saying, 

If you look at our season ticket base, 50% from the West Bay, 50% from the East Bay. We have the numbers, that’s what it is. There are in fact more season ticket holders, by quite a margin, from the city of San Francisco than from the city of Oakland.

That sounds eerily familiar to the little joking statement that Joe Lacob said at last year’s MIT Sloan conference about season ticket holders being the only “real fans”. If that’s the case, I’ve only been a real fan for 3 years and a fake fan for 20. But I’m digressing, the new Warriors ownership is running the risk of cutting out the heart of its fanbase for a few dollars more and banking on a face lift to replace the emotional black hole they’ll be leaving behind in the East Bay. Which is their right as owners but just don’t come crawling back and expecting any sympathy since you weren’t able to show any to the side of the bay that made this team who it is in spite of never getting anything in return for its trouble.

Sure the new San Francisco arena may be great and may be state of the art but it will never be able to replace the heart that will be lost in the move. Remember that “Telling to Win” is a lot different than actually winning and whatever rope that was left for this new ownership group is now cut and shredded. So stop talking about winning and actually do some of it or get ready for a lot more boos, a lot more frequently in a new shiny arena.

Here are some great articles and opinions on the Warriors move to SF, so read on and enjoy. I’m going to go and have a mild heart transplant complete with luxury suites & sushi.

Marcus Thompson: Warriors Error isn’t in Leaving, but Lacking Compassion for Die Hard Oakland Fans

Peter Hartlaub: Killing a Unicorn: The Warriors move and the risk of leaving Oakland

Bay Area Sports Guy: A bevy of Warriors Content from the Press Conference & take on move to SF.

Ethan Sherwood Strauss: From an Oakland Resident: Yes the Warriors should move to San Francisco.

Adam Lauridsen: Adam broke the story on the move to SF way before anyone caught wind of it. Sources: Warriors to San Francisco

38th Notes: A local Oakland blog’s take on the move. Spectacle Over Success: A Critique of the Warriors move to San Francisco

Matt Steinmetz: Warriors Announce SF Arena Plan

Ray Ratto: Warriors Must Replace Eastbay Fanbase

Heather Knight & John Cote: Warriors face many hurdles in building SF Arena