I Recant! May the Oakland Raiders Dwell in Permanent Disarray

The only good things to come out of the Black Hole are Marcus Allen, John Madden, and any unshanked visiting Bronco fan.

I got to experience the “raider mystique” for myself. It was nothing. the raider mystique feels the way I think LSD would feel if you were to mix it with a gallon of Jager and cheap gin. the raider mystique is a complete joke.

Let’s start a poll on what stupid pick the Raiders will make this season. Unfortunately, I’m not smart enough, nor versed enough in who are Al Davis type players (height-weight-speed), so I can’t start it. Maybe someone else can chime in. That video of last years first round pick made me think of it.

I have a co worker who is a Raiders fan. I always make fun of him. He thinks that because the Raiders were in the SB more recently than the Broncos, it somehow gives him bragging rights. He stubbornly clings to an 8-8 fantasy, even with the incomparable Al Davis running the show. He’s even renewed this long standing bet for next year, because they clearly cannot finish better than 7-9 this year. It’s sad and funny at the same time. :)

The defendant will now rise to hear the verdict.

I lived this righteous indignation for years, as though these Raider fans deserve a gloriously administered spanking. Somehow, the love of hating a group felt great, and in some ways, it still does. It began to rule me, to the point where I would periodically take on the role of aggression that I was blaming the Radier Fans for.

Then, periodically, and much to my own surprise, I started to challenge my own view on lumping one big group into a big, negatively perceived abstraction. Over time, it became undeniable to me that I had contradictory experience to my adopted thought-cluster.

Funny enough, most of it happened when I lived in the Oakland area for a year and a half (Lafayette, Mt Diablo blvd) but I didn’t recognize it at first. I spend a whole football season going to the bar to watch the Bronco games, and not once did I actually get attacked, or even ridiculed, actually. I noticed that those bar patrons had the same passion I had, but for another team. They would grumble, get negative about their own team, blame refs, cheer wildly and clinch their whole body in anticipation of a potentially game-winning play.

Hmm, strange, that’s like me…

The process is still in process, but ultimately where I am right now is that I beolieve what we see is two-fold. First, this Raider Mystique may have some merit, but it is that “marketing,” if you will, the draws people with preexisting problems or needs to gravitate to that. In fact, there are those black-wearing, aggressive Raider fans all over the country. I have seen them everywhere. And what demographic seems drawn to that the most? Many times, the same groups of kids who are attracted to gangs, and for the same reason. Belonging, identity, purpose. Horrifically misplaced, no doubt, but once seen under this light, I suppose being part of this raider culture is certainly better than many other choices that can be made, though I can’t imagine their friends are plentiful and at the highest quality…

The second aspect is that I strongly believe that this is an instance of vocal minority. I bet you that a great many Raider fans, fans that have followed their team for 30 years, like myself (thanks for introducing me to Broncs back int he day, dad!) are terribly embarassed by this whole drama. And I bet that they are the majority. I worked with them in the schools when I was teaching, I hung out with them at the park while playing basketball…I lived near them, as neighbors, as friends.

Finally, I think this bahavior makes sense , given the situation. What group of humans, when put into a long-standing situation of despair particularly with such a lack of control, don’t start to react with denial and fanciful images of their own greatness that has nothing to do with themselves? most humans, actually. In fact, if you take away a person’s sense of control (like Al Davis has, I can imaagine), then a person will typically act out-of-control.

Remove sense of control, person acts out of control…hmm, makes sense, doesn’t it? Let’s look at ourselves as Bronco fans during the whole pre-preseason time. We were no different. We had no control, so we generally (as a group) acted out (of control). If you account for the situation that the behavior takes place, most behavior actually makes a lot of sense.

So while I appreciate a good/bad story as much as anyone else, I do hope we can live within it and enjoy it without letting it become a true good guy / bad guy reality.

is the shining of a laser pointer light in the eyes of the Bronco players at the game today. I have a green laser pointer and I use it to point out constellations; it’s that powerful. It’s a mere 3 milliwatts in power and is sold everywhere. It is also capable of blinding a person by burning their retinas and that is clearly stated in the instructions and on the pointer. The act of shining a laser light in a player’s eyes is not just classless, it is a dangerous act.

When discussing raider fans en masse as epitomizing the dregs of society, I stand my ground.

In more straightforward terms: rAIDER FANS SUCK. PERIOD..

the comments rec’d here should be flagged!!

im a raider fan, born and raised in oakland, and i don’t like the broncos at all but this is ridiculous and for the most part, untrue.

I know tons and tons of raider fans, and just about all of them love the team and football. The same reason you guys root for the Broncos. After these last 7 years raider fans have had to endure, how can you question our faith? or do you think that because our team is horrible, we should simply jump ship? It’s easy to be a band-wagon saints fan, but REAL fans stick to their team when the going gets tough.

Now I’m not going to say that there aren’t crude, despicable raider fans out there. because there are. But theres good and bad everything. there are bad school teachers, bad priests, and yes, even bad bronco fans (i.e. laser-pointer guy)…my point being: to say that its only raider fans is appalling.

In your long essays of how horrible, cruel and unfaithful raider fans, you give off the same vibes of hate, arrogance and stupidity that you’re going against. I came over to see how Bronco fans interpreted how that last game went, and instead met a barrage of stupidity.

Now that was funny.

We in the Raider Nation appreciate the love, and the visit to Invesco. See ya next year Broncos fans.