The emotions were running high for Oakland native Kendall McIntosh, the Oakland Roots’ goalie, on October 24. He was gunning to continue his streak of shutouts as his team fought for their playoff lives. And he was also playing the Roots’ final home game at the Oakland Coliseum, the stadium where he grew up watching sports, “something that will forever stick with me.”
The keeper shared with The Oaklandside his memories of taking the ramp up to the stadium as a kid and “watching the Raiders play with the dirt baseball diamond still out.” He said he couldn’t see well, because he needed glasses, so he and his brother would find ways to get closer to the field, near the players. It was poetic symmetry when McIntosh’s family and friends attended the Roots’ final Coliseum match, he said: “People I grew up with seeing me as a baby going to games, me as a young adult skipping a college class to go to a game and now me being there as a professional athlete is just the full lifecycle.”
October saw the full lifecycle of sports once again, as three teams — soccer’s Oakland Roots, roller derby’s Oakland Outlaws and basketball’s Golden State Valkyries — all completed their seasons while another, the Oakland Skates hockey club, was born anew. Here’s your update on what’s been happening, and what’s coming up, in Oakland sports.
🏀 Golden State Valkyries
In case you’ve been on another planet, the Valkyries, who are headquartered in Oakland and whose series MVP, Gabby Williams, is rooted in Oakland, won the WNBA championship on Oct. 31 in a do-or-die Game 7 in only their second season of existence — sound familiar, Ballers? — then celebrated with a rally in Oakland and parade in San Francisco on November 4.
For Valkyries fans in Oakland still looking for a chance to celebrate, Rockridge’s Local Economy and WNBA Rough Notes are hosting “Valksgiving,” a potluck-slash-swag swap-slash-rewatch. Bring a dish and/or homemade fashion or merch to share. Expect to see highlights on the big screen and lavender everywhere you look.
(For women’s hoops fans who’ll miss watching ball until the WNBA draft in April, Cal Coach Charmin Smith wants to remind you that the Golden Bears play their games even closer to Oakland than the Valkyries do.)
Valksgiving, November 13, 6 to 7:30 p.m., Local Economy, 6028 College Ave., Oakland, free, register online.
🏒 Oakland Skates
The only Oakland (semi-)pro team currently in season are the Oakland Skates. The Skates dropped the puck on their inaugural season on October 30 with 4-3 win at home against the Santa Rosa Growlers. It was a sold-out crowd, and The Oaklandside was there to capture the action — and the Town vibes — at the Oakland Ice Center. And what a thrilling game it was, as the Skates came back to win it after being down 0-3 at the end of the first period.
The Skates won’t play at home again until November 20. In the meantime, their home bar, the Oakland Athletic Club, will host watch parties for Skates away games, including their Saturday game against a Santa Rosa team looking for payback.
When the Skates return home, it’ll be for a doubleheader against the Breckenridge Vipers, last year’s runners up for the Clear Cupthe championship of the Mountain Hockey League.
Watch party, November 14, 8 p.m., Oakland Athletic Club, 59 Grand Ave., Oakland, free
Home games, November 20 and 21, 7:30 p.m., Oakland Ice Center, 519 18th St., Oakland, tickets $20 for adults, $10 for youth
Official home game preparties, November 20 and 21, 4:30 p.m., Oakland Athletic Club, 59 Grand Ave., free
🏒 IIHF Women’s World Championship
Speaking of events at the Oakland Ice Center, Hysteria Sports Bar is teaming up with San Jose’s new expansion Professional Women’s Hockey League team to host a watch party for the World Championships. The International Ice Hockey Federation’s tournament features 10 teams, with Team USA favored to meet Team Canada in the finals, making it likely that one of these juggernauts will be playing in the semifinal for the watch party.
November 15, 9:30 a.m. doors, 10 a.m. game, Oakland Ice Center, 519 18th St., Oakland
⚽ Oakland Roots
The last month of the Roots’ season was thrilling — and bittersweet. On October 3, they battled the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on the road to a 0-0 draw. It was Kendall McIntosh’s third straight clean sheet, and it kept the team’s playoff hopes alive. This led into the Oakland Roots final home match on October 10, against San Antonio SC. Incredibly, McIntosh did it again, and Oakland played another team to a scoreless draw. Over 9,000 fans were there to cheer on the team in their last ever match at the Oakland Coliseum.
The match was followed by a concert with Oakland native R&B star Goats. She was the last of a veritable who’s who of Oakland musical artists, including Too $hort, E40, Sheila E, and Mistah F.A.B., who have taken the field at Roots games over the years. Team co-founder Edreece Arghandiwal called the team’s list of past performers a “Coachella lineup” and said he had especially fond memories of Keak Da Sneak performing with the 200-member Pittsburg High School marching band back on August 1.
With the Roots gone, the future of the Coliseum is uncertain. Arghandiwal went as far as to suggest that it might have been “the last time an Oakland professional sports team plays in that building.”
Perhaps buoyed by the love they received in Oakland, the squad went to Oklahoma and nabbed an exciting 4-2 win over Tulsa FC. The Roots fell behind twice but came back to finally grab the lead in the 83rd minute. Team assist leader Wolfgang Prentice scored two of the team’s four goals himself. The win brought Oakland within striking distance of a playoff berth. With a win in their final game, they would make it to the postseason.
Alas, it was not to be. On October 24, the Roots visited their rival Sacramento FC. Despite giving up a goal early in the match, the team leveled the score and then, in added time at the end of the first half, they surged to 2-1 lead on a goal by the team’s all-time goal scorer, Peter Wilson. Unfortunately, the second half saw Sacramento outscore Oakland two goals to none, and the Roots fell 3-2 in their last match of the season.
With the season over, the Roots announced an effort to raise $15 million to stabilize the club’s finances and convert their facility in Alameda, the former Oakland Raiders practice facility, to a match-day venue until they have a permanent home. On November 9, the Alameda Planning Board vote unanimously to allow the club to build an 8,000-seat modular stadium so the team can play there next season. “Our overarching goal has been to have the infrastructure that will make Roots and Soul a lasting institution,” said club board chair Steven Aldrich.
🏈⚽🏐📣 Oakland Athletic League fall middle school championships
If you love sports but can’t decide which one to watch, has the Oakland Athletic League has got the event for you. The OAL is hosting the Fall League Middle School Championships for all of fall sports at one site on one day. Starting at 8:30 a.m., fans will be able to see champions crowned in boys and girls flag football, boys and girls futsal, girls volleyball and cheerleading. Says OAL commissioner Franky Navarro, “We expect this day to be a festive community event that highlights all sports.”
November 21, 8:30 a.m., Fremont High School, 4610 Foothill Blvd, Oakland, free
⚽ Mexican national soccer
As anyone in Oakland last June and July experienced during the Men’s FIFA World Cup, the Town has a huge appetite for competitive soccer, and shows up big not just for El Tricolor, the Mexican team, but for Team USA as well. The Women’s FIFA World Cup is heading to Brazil next summer, and qualifying is underway now. When El Tri Feminil, the Mexico women’s team, play Haiti in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF W Championship later this month, they will be playing not just to advance in that tournament but to gain a spot in next summer’s as well. The Oakland 68’s will be hosting a watch party to catch the action.
November 28, 1:30 p.m., Oakland Athletic Club, 59 Grand Ave., Oakland, free
⚾ Oakland Ballers
While their season ended in September, the Ballers have sent five players — including slugger Jeter Ybarra and team leader Tremayne Cobb (“our Gabby Williams” according to general manager Laura Geist) — overseas to South Korea to compete in the KBO Fall League, where they won another championship. “That was really fun to watch,” Geist said, who caught the games online from Oakland but had “FOMO Level 2000” as she followed current and former Ballers on social media during their travels. “Getting to be a part of something that is such a huge part of the cultural zeitgeist there is amazing.”
The KBO League is the highest level of professional baseball in South Korea. The KBO Fall League, modeled on Major League Baseball’s Arizona Fall League, is a special tournament in October that allows minor league players to gain experience. For the first time, an American team played in the league. Although wearing the uniforms of the Long Beach Coast, the roster felt more like a Pioneer League all-star team with some players from other squads. And they more than held their own, with a 10-0-2 record in the tournament and a win over the Ulsan Whales to take the trophy on October 31, which was the wee hours of the morning stateside — the start of a long championship Halloween given the Valkyries win later that same evening.
The Ballers season starts in May, and season tickets are on sale now.
🛼 Oakland Outlaws
The Oakland Outlaws of Bay Area Derby held their final bout of the season versus the San Francisco Rolling Dead at Richmond Memorial Coliseum on October 24. It was the “Halloween Game,” and teams and crowds did not disappoint in terms of costumes or excitement. The Outlaws trailed for much of the match but came back in the final jams to win it. While their season is over, fundraising for their new practice facility in East Oakland continues. With any luck, renovations will be done in time to host events there next year.
🏈 Golden State San Francisco Bay Storm
Last March, the Golden State Storm took the Women’s National Football Conference by, well, storm, setting league attendance records at their home field at Laney College, and nearly making the playoffs. Now they’re making a major change: they are officially becoming the San Francisco Bay Storm. Team spokesperson Heather Hatlo Porter told The Oaklandside that the name “is an evolution that we believe better reflects the Northern California community we call home.” It also avoids any confusion that they might be related — they’re not — to the two other teams, the Valkyries and Warriors, who use the Golden State moniker. The team will continue to play in Oakland.
Source: oaklandside.org
