Now Do Oakland
The Super Bowl Was a Success for San Francisco. Now Do Oakland.
By Paul Freedman
In January, the sports world descended on the Bay Area, braced for impact. They arrived clutching their steer-clear maps and pre-written "urban decay" narratives, expecting to find a scene out of a dystopian novel. They’d read the headlines; they knew the script.
Then a funny thing happened. They looked out the window. They walked the streets. They ate the food. They saw the clear blue skies and stunning streetscapes. And suddenly, the national media had an epiphany: The Bay Area isn't a hellhole.
The vibe shift was palpable.
We watched as outsiders realized they had been sold a caricature of our home. And while it felt good to see the "doom loop" narrative catch a flat tire, we’re missing the bigger lesson. Because if the world finally got San Francisco right, it’s time for the Bay Area to do the same for our own backyard. It’s now time to do Oakland.
To the rest of the country, San Francisco is the punching bag. But to many people in the greater Bay Area and beyond, Oakland plays that same role. We use the same tropes, the same exaggerated fears, and the same lazy shorthand to dismiss a city that is the very soul of this region.
Oakland is to the Bay Area what San Francisco is to the country: a place where the reality is far more vibrant, complex, and resilient than the filtered version you see on your feed.
Let’s be clear: we have our problems. We deal with real challenges regarding public safety, housing, and governance. Life here isn't perfect, and pretending otherwise doesn't help anyone.
But here is a radical thought: 400,000 people do not choose to live in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
The people of Oakland aren't here because they’re stuck; they’re here because this city offers a grit and a grace you can’t find anywhere else. They’re here for the Friday nights at Lake Merritt, the stunning natural surroundings, the best restaurants in the country, the vibrant music scene, and the kind of deep-rooted community pride that doesn't just survive adversity, it’s forged by it.
It's easy to think the San Francisco vibe shift just happened. But nothing “just happens.” There was a deliberate and focused effort from the people who run San Francisco to rewrite their own story. I’m not privy to the entire internal strategy but I saw they hired a PR firm to focus solely on the story of San Francisco, to flip it from a doom loop to a boom loop. The new mayor hired additional private consultants to push that narrative forward. The six-figure consultant cost sure does sound like a lot, but the return on investment is unquestionable.
I'm not naive. PR consultants won’t save us. But PR consultants, combined with more effective city governance, can rewrite the story of a city. Alongside dedicated media work, the city clamped down on corrupt nonprofits. They also invested in outdoor community gatherings and block parties. Mayor Lurie convinced music entrepreneur Ghazi to host a free concert downtown, and 20,000 people showed up. The Mayor is now planning a free boxing match in front of City Hall and he’s talking about 140,000 people showing up.
We need to do the same here in Oakland. Anytime people come from Marin to West Oakland for a night at the Ballers, they say how surprised they were by how peaceful it was, and how strong the community vibes are. We know it works when we see these one-off efforts, but what we’re missing is a unified effort to promote attention-grabbing events that bring people from across the Bay to Oakland. And if we can change the hearts and minds of how people in the South Bay, the North Bay, and the City feel about Oakland, we can change how the country feels about us too.
When we started the Oakland Ballers, we were told the "Oakland narrative" was too heavy to lift. We were told people wouldn't come out, that the obstacles were too high, that the city was "too far gone.”
We bet on the opposite. We bet on the fact that Oaklanders are hungry for things that belong to them. We bet on the fact that the "hellhole" narrative is a lie told by people who don't spend time here.
The sports world just learned that San Francisco is still a world-class gem. Now, it’s our turn. We need to stop exporting our own brand of cynicism to the East Bay. We need to stop letting the worst things about our city be the only things we talk about.
The world got it wrong about the Bay. Don't get it wrong about Oakland.
Paul Freedman is the co-founder of the Ballers.
