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Raider Nation

Could Sunday mean long awaited jubilation for The Raider Nation?

By Mike Oseroff

When the final whistle was blown Sunday in the Oakland Raiders decisive AFC Championship victory over the Tennessee Titans, a city breathed a sigh of relief and let out a collective roar of emotions, most of which centered around one particular phrase: “How do you like us now?”

The Raiders had reached their first Super Bowl in 19 years, and the city of Oakland and their fans could no longer be ignored. Before Sunday, 95% of the world hated the Oakland Raiders, a team notorious for late hits, penalties, and whom almost every team in the NFL could call a rival. A team whose controversial owner, Al Davis, was one of the few so called “faces of evil” in the NFL for his litigation against league executives, and for his back and forth moving of the team between the Bay Area and Los Angeles. A team whose city had long been in the shadow of the more elegant San Francisco, and had been insulted by countless references to its homicide total and blue-collar industrial city atmosphere. But most of all, Oakland and the Raiders were a city and team that no one respected, a team whose failures were comical, and whose cheesy slogans such as “Just Win Baby” were a mockery. But not anymore. Finally, it is cool to be a Raider again, and no one can deny Oakland a trip to San Diego.

In the past two years the Raiders suffered heartbreaking playoff losses — both of which received no sympathy from the media or the league. In 2000 against the Baltimore Ravens, 300 pound Tony Siragusa fell onto Quarterback Rich Gannon in the 2nd quarter, ending Gannon’s season and crushing the Raiders’ Super Bowl Dreams. To rub it in, a lot of the media described the Raiders loss as a “choke job.” The following year the infamous tuck-rule came into play in New England, when Raider CB Charles Woodson knocked the ball out of Patriot QB Tom Brady’s hands, and the Raiders recovered with little time left. However, under review, the play was ruled a tuck, and the Pats went on to win the game to the shock of the fans. The Raiders felt like the league was out to get them, but that just fueled the team’s fire.

Now it is hard to think of the Oakland Raiders without thinking of their crazy and eccentric fan base. By now if you have ever watched a Raider game, you know about the “Black Hole” and the Raider Nation who inhabit it. The Raiders’ fans are well known for dressing in creepy costumes and for yelling profanities and creating a ruckus to intimidate other teams and non-Raider fans. Most people would be petrified to meet a Raider Nation crazy in a dark alley at night. However, if you look beyond the demon mask, the spikes, and the sliver and black facepaint, you’ll simply find frustrated citizens who along with their city and team, feel disrespected by the league’s overall despise for their organization.

Following the win Sunday, in true Raider Nation fashion, a mob of people rioted to celebrate the victory. Buildings were burned, windows were broken, cars were tipped over, and 20 arrests were made over a span of a few blocks on International Boulevard in East Oakland. Yes, some could call the riots the product of a drunken criminal mob, but Raider fans know better. They know they were simply a cry out to the rest of the world that no matter how much they’ve been put down, it doesn’t matter anymore because the Raiders are in the Super Bowl and there is nothing anyone can do about that.

The Raider Nation is like a club. If you come to the Raiders, no matter what your background is, you are welcomed with open arms and treated with love and respect. Take Bill Romanowski, a long time 49er and Bronco and one whose dirty play made him one of the most hated rival players for the Raider Nation. This season though, he called Al Davis and said he wanted to be a Raider, and Oakland greeted his arrival like a long lost relative. However if you leave the Raider Nation, for whatever reason, you are scum. You are nothing, and your return to Oak-Town will be as pleasant as playing in Green Bay naked.

This Sunday in San Diego, the Raiders will play their old coach Jon Gruden and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFL title, in one of the great Super Bowl matchups in recent years. No matter what the outcome, win or lose, there will be riots in the streets of Oakland following the game. They will either be riots of celebration and joy, or riots of disgust and loathing, but one thing is for sure: the Raiders are back in the Championship, and their fans will all be thinking one thing: “We’re back on top baby, how you like us now?”

— Mike Oseroff is a sophomore at Berkeley High School.