During a fiery performance at Oracle Park, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong didn’t just play the hits but also aimed some choice words at Oakland A’s owner John Fisher over the team’s potential move out of Oakland, a move that has struck a nerve with the East Bay native. In a display of outright defiance to both Fisher and the city of Las Vegas, Armstrong proclaimed to the San Francisco crowd, “We don’t take no s*** from people like John f***ing Fisher who sold out the Oakland A’s to Las f***ing Vegas,” as reported by KRON4.
Not one to mince words, the outspoken frontman underscored his allegiance to his home turf, “Tonight is a very special night. Tonight we are home. This is my home. Green Day, we are from the Bay Area. We live the Bay Area. We smell the Bay Area. We are the refineries. We are that cold Bay. This is us. We are East Bay,” Armstrong’s rant well beyond the realms of a mere concert banter reflecting deep-seated local pride and a stinging distaste for corporate decisions that uproot beloved institutions. His contempt for Las Vegas was crystallized in the utterance, “I hate Las Vegas. It is the worst [place] in America,” his simplicity and earnestness drove his point home, according to Sports Illustrated.
The Green Day frontman’s actions have spoken just as loudly as his words; earlier in the summer, Armstrong took to spray-painting the Oakland Ballers’ logo over the A’s at various baseball stadiums, a symbolic gesture supporting the hometown team that contrasts sharply with the departure he laments. His activism isn’t surprising to those who’ve followed Armstrong’s attendance at a “reverse boycott” game organized by A’s fans last year and has been seen supporting local Oakland teams such as the Ballers and Roots/Soul, blending seamlessly with the crowd, according to the same Sports Illustrated…