Perry's Pen

A friend of mine shared an ESPN article entitles “How Las Vegas took over sports, at Oakland’s expense“. It is a good read, but it is not pretty. Reality seldom is. Here are my thoughts.

1) My friend Morris gave me a taste of the “Oakland vibe” mentioned in the article

When I went to SF with my friend Morris in ’94, he insisted we go over to Oakland to check out a Pacific Coast League exhibit at some museum in Oakland.

I’m glad he did, too, because it was awesome. Jigger Statz! The SF Seals, Sparky Anderson. I learned about the SF Seals Stadium having three dressing rooms because two teams shared it as their home field. There were two home dressing rooms and one away. I also recall something about Seals Stadium having a private box for wives and girlfriends and how they got a bouquet at every game.

After checking out the PCL baseball exhibit, we went for a couple of pops at a bar beside where we parked. Al’s Court Lounge!

Later it became a cool place called the Ruby Room. Green Day has a song about it. I wouldn’t know. I cannot tolerate Green Day. They are:

• corporate
• soulless
• contrived
• an insult to our intelligence

It is bizarre that Green Day hails from Oakland!

As I recall, aside from Morris and myself, there was only one other patron at the Court Lounge. And even though it was empty, my memory insists that it was smokey. Al, the owner, was bartending. He had a nasty cough. I said something like “Hey Al, once you are done coughing up that lung, can you get me a beer?” afterwards.

Morris asked where to get a bite nearby, and Al pulled out a couple of menus from a place in the hood. We grabbed burgers or something and ate at Al’s Court Lounge.

Morris was impressed with that business arrangement and let Al know. “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. Great way to do business, Al.”

All of us at the Court Lounge were white, but my visit did give me a small taste of Oakland flavour discussed in the ESPN article. From this brief encounter, I suspect that Oakland is not that far removed from Detroit.

Takeaway: The Reggie Jackson special at Lois the Pie Queen sounds like a BIG meal. A delicious one, too!

2) Greg the Bus Driver in Vegas

Michelle and I were big into side trips when travelling.

On one side trip we took while in Vegas, we had a bus driver who was a brother. He was cool as cool can be and talked pretty much nonstop.

In addition to whatever script he may have had, he spilled his guts, telling us his entire life story. He’d pronounce his name as if he had a Fonzie AY in the middle of it: “Grayyyyyyyg“. It was impossible not to like this guy.

Greg told us about why he moved to Vegas from California. I remember him being from NoCal, maybe even around Oakland. He went on about “developing a taste for the wine, over at Da Rio! Ohhhh, yeah!” after moving to Vegas, even though he moved from California.

He laid out the financial decisions for moving to LV from CA. He would NEVER be able to afford a house back home, but in Vegas, it was easy. His income was higher in Sin City, and his cost of living and taxes were way lower.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting 3 or 4 brothers like this. Impossible not to love them.

Takeaway: Greg did what the A’s want to do.

3) World Cup Toronto

After John Tory resigned as Mayor of Toronto, he stuck around long enough to push his budget through. In addition to a sex scandal which might make Vince McMahon blush, we learned after the fact that he had signed a massive deal with FIFA for Toronto to host some World Cup soccer games.

Tory’s deal is for half a billion or thereabouts, with a LOT of money going to Rogers. Tory was always a Rogers man and was on the Rogers payroll while “serving” as Mayor. At one point, Tory took a couple of days off from being Mayor of Toronto to work at Rogers on a big issue (a Rogers family dispute – you can’t make this stuff up!)

The justifications politicians use for these massive handouts of public money to gigantic corporations are the same ones mentioned in the article. More tourism, money spent at hotels, restos, etc.

That argument holds water in Vegas. It doesn’t in Oakland, and I doubt it does in Toronto.

If it is all about tourism dollars, why doesn’t Mirvish get the same financial support as a media company that has earnings of several billion dollars per year? Mirvish is a theatre company that stages Broadway-type shows in Toronto.

I suspect the Mirvish clientele is far more likely to spend money on a hotel room and restaurant than Jays fans who commute into the city for the game and then head right back to where they came from.

It looks like a lot of the World Cup money will be going to the cops, as well. I shoulda known.

Takeaway: Cops gonna get paid, Mayor gonna get paid, Corporations gonna get paid. “The rich get richer, the poor get the picture.” – Midnight Oil

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AI summary of this article:

The article captures the Oakland ambiance and contrasts it with the allure of Las Vegas. Personal anecdotes reveal the city’s distinctive character. Additionally, Toronto’s Mayor John Tory’s controversial actions with FIFA and corporate deals are dissected, raising questions about public fund allocation. The intricate web of politics, business, and culture is unveiled.