Juan Toscano-Anderson is Oakland through and through.
The Golden State Warriors guard/forward grew up here and his journey to carving out an important role on one of the NBA's best teams has been an incredible story to follow.
Not only is he a local kid, but he's playing for the team he grew up rooting for, an experience that very few athletes have ever experienced.
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The Oakland native is also a fan of the Athletics and spoke to ABC 7's Casey Pratt at the Warriors Generation Thrive event on Friday, where he discussed his conversation with Mayor Libby Schaaf and why the A's are so important to the city of Oakland.
"I probably annoyed her a little bit about my comments," Toscano-Anderson told Pratt. "I'm a true A's fan, man. I'm Oakland to the bone. I know what the sports teams mean to the people here. I know how much of a disconnect it allows them to have from work or from real life to cheer on their favorite teams and their favorite players. The Raiders have gone, the Warriors ... even though they didn't go very far, it's still not Oakland. Some people don't have the means to get across that bridge to go to a game.
"I just want to maintain a culture here and keep something for the people here. For them to wake up and cheer for. Sports do a lot for people. Sometimes I don't think we acknowledge what sports do for people. It allows them to relax and cheer and have a beer, hang out with their friends, congregate, go to games, etc."
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Of course, every A's fan around Toscano-Anderson's age shares one defining memory from Athletics baseball during their childhood.
"Not only that, but it allows for some dreams to be made," Toscano-Anderson said of sports' impact on the community. "I remember going to an A's game when they won 20 games in a row, Scott Hatteberg hit a walk-off home run, I'll never forget that day, ever. I wanted to be a baseball player, that was amazing to me. I saw the way fans went crazy in that moment, those are one of the things that I appreciate about sports, is just the fandom. People cheering for you and enjoying those moments. It's bigger than the actual team being here, it's the actual experience that people get to go to the games and experience it. Hopefully, we can maintain that and keep the team here."
As the A's continue to push for a new waterfront ballpark at the Howard Terminal, plenty of speculation has swirled in recent years regarding the team's potential departure from the city if they are unable to finalize plans for a new ballpark. Despite the contrast that the A's fanbase draws when compared to teams with higher fan turnout -- specifically the team across the Bay Bridge -- Toscano-Anderson believes the support remains very strong throughout the Bay Area.
"Even the A's, even though the fandom isn't as big for them, there still is a lot of fans here, they get a lot of support," Toscano-Anderson added. "I own 20 A's hats, it's my favorite hat, I love the A's. It's much bigger than that business aspect. Kids get to take field trips to the baseball games, it inspires a whole generation, it creates more jobs for people. It's bigger than the actual team, there's layers to it. So I made a few comments to her, hopefully, she can help keep the team here. I hope she does, she says that's what she wants to do. No pressure, I understand it's a business but I'm also a native of Oakland so I'm biased."
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Just a month ago, Oakland City Council voted 6-2 in favor of certifying the Environmental Impact Report at the Howard Terminal site. It's certainly a step in the right direction as the organization inches closer to possibly breaking ground in the near future, but certainly not a done deal quite yet.
Toscano-Anderson, and many other Oakland natives, are hoping the A's stick around for a very long time.