"It hurts to see them go": Oakland grief after losing the Warriors to the benefit of the rich San Francisco | sport

In the days leading up to the last professional basketball series in Oakland, the Golden State Warriors, the yellow and blue of their beloved team, shone from every angle.

But in a few short weeks, Oakland will no longer be able to call the Warriors his own. When this season ends, the team will move across the bay to the $ 1 billion Chase Center in San Francisco. The Warriors leave behind Oracle Arena, their home for 47 years, and a loyal fan base, too accustomed to being left behind in a changing world.

With San Francisco being the epicenter of a technology-rich earthquake that has disproportionately hit the cities of this region, it is difficult for some long-time residents of Oakland not to feel resentment. After all, they loved warriors when no one was watching them again. Now, at the height of their success, they cross the bay to get to El Dorado.

The fervor that usually accompanies the Warriors championship races is tempered in Oakland this time; the excitement joins a hint of melancholy and discomfort. But it is also a city that loves deeply and sometimes unreasonably. And Oakland will cheer on his local team.

The feet of millions fans of Golden State Warriors have paraded over the years in the station Coliseum Bart, but will not come next year. The construction left the spartan interior half empty and chaotic, dust swirling around the big ads of Steph Curry splattered on the walls. In the hours leading up to the game for the first part of the final, the workers shoveled land near the rate grids, which accounted for most of the activity.

Byron Glover was sitting at a higher level than the sound on the platform, a shiny Golden State cap leaning on his head and a pragmatic vision of the team he followed almost all his life. An extravagant championship ring flashed in place of a wedding band.

"It's not a bad thing," said the 56-year-old resident of Oakland. "They will always have the support of the people of Oakland, but they will have a new facility, new friends, different fans. They will always sell their crowds because there are so many people in Silicon Valley and in the Bay Area who support them. But that will not make a difference for the city of Oakland. "

Glover was able to watch a few games this season, but he does not expect that to happen when the team moves to San Francisco. "The [ticket] prices will go up, "he said. "There are people in the upper clbad who will buy the tickets, so there will not be many people who can afford to leave. There are many pensioners, subscribers, who have nothing to do. The middle clbad, we must always work for the same money, pay our bills, etc.

This does not mean that he abandons the Warriors.

"We must always follow the flow," said Glover. "You've been a fan for years, not just on the train, after the Warriors when they started winning. You must remember that they have not always won. You are a real fan of the Warriors. "

He continued, "Many people will say," Oh, forget the Warriors, they are going to San Francisco. "They came from San Francisco. It's too bad for the city of Oakland. It's like the Raiders, "said the Oakland NFL team in Las Vegas. "It's the same thing, that's how it happens, it's life."

Match days, Tony Scott represents, sporting a bright yellow warrior shirt in his Marriott groom uniform. The 58-year-old has been working at the Oakland Marriott City Center for 36 years, in the same building as the Warriors' headquarters, sharing space with the team he's been promoting since 1975.

"When they were not good, I had people upstairs giving me tickets," he said. "Now that they are good, they pbad as if nothing has happened. It's an excellent team, so everyone is on the train. "

Scott laughed. "Oh, you'll like this story, I can not say what year we were, but a year ago, the Celtics, and [their player] Ray Allen, did you hear about him? Around 7:30, I said, "What are you doing?" And he added, "I'm going to play golf. I play Warriors. The next night, he said, "I'll be in bed. I play the Lakers. I play Kobe [Bryant]. Look how far we are!

"There was a time when teams came here and said it was an opportunity to show how good their players were because they were playing against the Warriors. It's over. The Warriors are one of the best teams and they play together. "

Scott knows that the games will only be a trip from the other side of the bay, so he can afford to buy tickets. But he can not help but wonder if Oakland should have made greater use of the Warriors' presence to create jobs and opportunities for more people.

"Before we decided to go to San Francisco, we had the opportunity to build," he said. "There is nothing in the Coliseum. You go to San Francisco, if I'm married, I have the opportunity to have my wife watch the game for a minute, maybe do some shopping, there Fisherman's Wharf. There are things to do. That's why they go to San Francisco. "

Hats line the shelves at the back of a small space in the old Oakland called BOSK. The clothing store is one of the few stores offering items with the effigy of "The Town," dubbed proudly to compete with "The City" of San Francisco. The Warriors have worn this name on their jerseys in recent years, a gesture for fans of East Bay after the news of the team's move.

Taking a hat called "Oakland Warriors", a customer lamented, "They never called themselves that, did not they?"

The team has been representing The Town for four decades and their fans have turned Oracle Area into a "Roaracle". But after leaving San Francisco in 1971, they no longer took the name of their new city, but became Golden State.

She still bought the hat.

Saaliahah Mays, the store manager, said many people had come to pick up Oakland merchandise to keep their team despite the move. "We all want to make sure we have something that lasts. That means they were part of our community at one point, "she says.

For Mays, a native of Oakland who says she's not very athletic, the move was bittersweet. The team has had a marked impact on the region, offering not only local pride but also community service. This will continue after they leave: the team's former practice space will be dedicated to youth camps and non-profit organizations.

Nevertheless, with the team moving to San Francisco, "I feel like we're taking two Ls," says Mays. "It was the same with the Raiders."

"It's deep," she says. "But you just have to ride with it. They always represent the Bay Area – we are still part of it. "

After this season, the Oakland Warriors War will be abolished. The store, says Mays, will still sell mercury from Golden State. "We will always support them," she adds. "But for now, we are trying to keep it at home as long as possible."

Van Kleef Café in downtown Oakland It's not a sports bar, but it's an Oakland bar, and in the years the owners did not talk to their cable company, they wanted to close the screens and show the championship games.

But next year? When are the warriors in San Francisco? Will the bar play games then?

"Probably," bartender Rick Eggers said at the beginning. He's been a fan of the Warriors since coming to Oakland in 1989 and it's hard to cut those ties.

But he is also Oakland, end to end.

"I'm a fan of the Warriors, I went to all their games, and now that they're leaving, I'm not going to their games anymore," he said. "But I want to see them win in Oakland once more before they leave."

The dark and eclectic bar, specializing in freshly squeezed greyhound badtails, was held in the afternoon before the first game of the final. The regulars entered and greeted Eggers. He ponders the question by helping each guest along the bar.

"I think it's sad for people who have bought season tickets all these years and who can not afford it," he said after a while. "They came from San Francisco so I understand everything, but it hurts to see them go."

"San Francisco, they want everything," shouted a woman from a few seats.

"They will be missed here," Eggers said.

"They will miss us more," retorted the woman. "There are only certain things that money can not buy."

Would the bar present a Warriors championship game, even after his move to San Francisco? In the 15 seconds that followed his first response, Eggers had changed his mind from "probably" to "probably not" to "in doubt".

"They abandoned us," said Eggers. "They abandoned Oakland. And I am a person from Oakland. I'm staying in Oakland. "