What do The Killers and The Lonely Island have in common? The Oakland A's, apparently
I’m a little offended the Wikipedia page for the Oakland A's mentions (Vegas band) The Killers and not The Lonely Island.
Why did I only today learn from Wikipedia that the Oakland Athletics are mentioned in a Killers song?
“Her elegance and charm are worthy of praise
And I heard she used to throw, for The Oakland A's”
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a Killers fan for over a decade. I saw them in concert in 2022. “Mr. Brightside” is an all-time banger. And I’ve listened to The Killers’ 2012 album Battle Born (titled after the motto of their home state of Nevada) a hundred times. But never the deluxe edition, apparently. The song “Prize Fighter,” which contains the lyric, is only on that version.
I’ve been a Lonely Island fan for equally long, though. I used watch Saturday Night Live specifically for their digital shorts. I saw their 2016 movie, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping in theaters. And it’s cool that they all met at Berkeley High, a block from where I used to live. When they made the Netflix special The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience in 2019, about (famously steroid using) A’s players Mark McGwire and José Canseco, I was stoked. I’ve listened to that album also a hundred times.
But neither of those bands can compare to my fandom for the Oakland Athletics. I was an A’s fan from the day I was born, up until the day they left Oakland in 2024. My parents were both lifelong fans (especially my dad, who had a blog about them in the 2000s), and they remember the 1980s baseball seasons of Canseco and McGwire dominating. I have many fond childhood memories of going to games. I was more than disappointed when the owner decided to move the team to Las Vegas. The Oakland A’s had history. They had culture. The A’s belonged in Oakland.
Given the history of the Athletics, you can see why I’m a little touchy about a Las Vegas band getting the mention over the locals. The Killers’ song, which is not even on the original album, barely references the A’s, so I don’t know why Wikipedia included it. Sure, they’re more well-known than The Lonely Island (comedy musical acts have always been niche), but the Netflix special was entirely about the two A’s players. I guess it's not popular enough to count as popular culture. Boo!
If someone edits the Wikipedia page now, I’m going to look real silly, but don’t let that stop you! I’m sure someone reading my blog has edited a Wikipedia page. Go do it!