The Raiders are not, and never will be, trend followers. They are trendsetters.
Al Davis brings in the most controversial players there are. He does not follow conventional thinking in terms of who he drafts, nor in who he signs in the offseason. Long known as a haven for castoffs, rejects, and malcontents, many formerly “washed-up” or “finished” players have found their way back to greatness in the open arms of the Silver and Black.
Jim Plunkett, Ronnie Lott, Bill Romanowski, and many other players (even the G.O.A.T., Jerry Rice) found their way to the Dark Side, and either won or got to taste victory again in some form. (They have also, without exception, commented during or after their tenure with Oakland how it’s different playing with the Raiders, from a fairness standpoint.)
Al Davis drafts who he wants to draft, not who the NFL thinks he should draft. Some may call it crazy or just plain not smart football, but you’ve got to admire a man and a team that bucks the trends, and consistently sets the NFL on its ear. The man is a gambler, and sometimes you’re going to win it all, and sometimes you’re going to lose your shirt.
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The fans are trendsetters as well. Sure, there have been those who have “dressed up” at NFL games for many years. However, none have even come close to the level of which Raider fans have taken it. The Raiders’ ENTIRE fan base is famous. Going to a Raider game is an event, and there is nothing like it in the world, much less at any other NFL team’s venue.
The Raiders adopted the term “Nation”. This may be a point of contention, but there is no arguing that almost everything now is called “Nation”-this and “Nation”-that, and that started happening only after SB XXXVII when the world was once again exposed to the greatness of the Raider Nation. Practically every team in the NFL now blatantly copies the Raiders in one aspect or another—from playing “Hell’s Bells” on their PAs, to adopting black as their uniform’s primary color. It’s all latent hatred-envy at its finest.
Everyone loves to hate Al Davis. He plays the perfect villain to the typical goody-two-shoes compliant NFL owner. He’s sued the league, yeah, but he had good reason. He’s gone toe-to-toe with Oakland, but again, his organizations’ best interests were always at the heart of the matter. Players, both past and present, either love Al Davis or hate him.
The Hall of Fame is littered with Raiders players and coaches, so much so that many members of the voting committee have commented that there’s already too many and that they won’t vote any more in, even though they should by all rights be. (Take Mr. Flores, Kenny Stabler and Ray Guy for instance.)
The Chiefs and the Broncos even have Raider Week. That is no insult to the Raiders, that is pure hatred, borne by respect.
From the owner on down to the fan, Raider Nation is one unit. Loyalty is forever. It is bigger than a fan sport. The Raider-Way is a way of life, and unless you live it, you’ll never understand it.
The NFL needs a villain, and the Raiders, especially us Raider fans, do indeed relish the role, even if we won’t openly admit it. Bring it on!
GO RAIDERS!
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4 months ago
Well Spoken, fellow comrade from the Nation Of Raiders! Win or Lose, Raiders Till We Die!
4 months ago
Years ago, if you beat us on the scoreboard we still kicked their ass on the field. My fondest memory is of Steve Wisnewski planting Alonzo Spellman on his ass before, during, and after the play. Once your in the Nation you can never leave win or lose. I love my Raiders and hats off to Al reguardless of anything he does.
from 4 months ago
You know, Tony, you just scream "I'm a PUPPET."
Hat's off to Al, regardless of what he does? Are you serious? What? You're just of the "I can't figure out things on my own, so I'll just do what I'm told, bow when I should, and never question the status quo'??
Again...are you anything resembling a man...or is this puppet thing full time??
See...Al just tried to chase off Kiffin...all because he wouldn't kiss Al's rear.
Now, most Raider fans find fault with that...but not Tony, lol...
Yeah, you just keep hanging on Old Man Al's sac, because not having to think means you never wonder if made the wrong decision.
Good for you, Tony...now go clean your room.
4 months ago
LMAO.
We get it Phil.
You aren't a fan of the team, you're one of those many "IMAGE"fans.
You want so desperately to believe you're "hated" because it makes you feel special.
You're not. We're laughing at you. Yes, yes, I know..that bursts your little bubble, but facts are facts.
No one is afraid of the Raiders. Teams look forward to playing the Raiders. Now, does that sound like "fear" or does it sound like "chock this up as a W"??
And dude...can you be any more pathetic if you took a class???
I swear..you take the "I'm so desperate to be something more than a flea" to a new level"
Phil: "The Raiders’ ENTIRE fan base is famous."
"The fans are trendsetters as well."
"The NFL needs a villain, and the Raiders, especially us Raider fans, do indeed relish the role, "
What are you...like 12?
Yeah, kid..because you wear your little pirate shirt..you're all "scary..and oh lordy...such a villain"
You've been playing too much Nintendo.
Oh, and maybe next time read up before you set yourself up.
Al screwed over the county, AND ESPECIALLY THE FANS..and it had nothing to do with the team...was payback. Of course, you would have to actually know something about the Raiders to know what I'm talking about.
And another "Oops" was your list of players that tasted success.
Yeah, Romo tasted success...couple of Super Bowl rings...WITH THE NINERS AND THE BRONCO'S.
With the Raiders? Was on the receiving end of one of the most embarrassing blow outs in SB history.
Lott?? Again, had lots of success..numerous SB rings...WITH THE NINERS. Got squat with the Raiders.
Rice?? Again, tons of success with the Niners...with Raiders, was embarrassed to be associated with that loss.
And sorry, foolish boy, many teams leave the sorry group of Raider fans in the dust. You've never been to a Raider game, have you? It's only in the black hole that they dress up..and that's for the camera's. Around the stadium? A few here and there...go to a GB game..everyone has on a cheesehead...Browns have been dressing up for years.
Leave it to a little wannabee like you to get all excited thinking everyone dresses like that..or acts like that.
Actually, can pretty much torch most of your silly reply, but I suspect you're all but done.
Sorry about busting your "I a villain, mommy...no, really, I am" bubble.
3 months ago
Wow Mike49er, i guess it really pissed you off when i mentioned a few of the 49er greats. I have been a raider fan for over 40 years, so i have been around long enough to know that we own the 49ers head to head. Even in your super bowl run years we beat the niners. And you should pay more attention, i said the had some success as a raider, did not mention anything about winning a super bowl.
3 months ago
RAI-DERS RAI-DERS RAI-DERS ENOUGH SAID!!!!!!!!!
3 months ago
One more thing Mike49er, I was born in Oakland at lake Merritt hospital. Raised in the east bay in Albany, ca. Season ticket holder since 1980 in Oakland as well as LA, and before that my father had season tickets for the hole family. My first football game was at Keyzar Stadium, 49ers againts the Rams in 1962. I bet i know more about the Niners than you do Skippy, so don't give me that shit i never have been to a raider game. I bet i have gave away more Niner tickets away than you have attended. yeah i get Niner tickets to hand out to clients. The only Niner game i go to is when they are playing the raiders. Who wants t go to that crappy stadium in south Frisco anyway.
3 months ago
I've been a fan for 20 years or so, have defended my team agains any and all comers (I live in New England), but I take issue with this Al is a genius and can never be wrong crap. I used to think Al was great doing his own thing thumbing his nose at the league, but his decision making over the past 7 years has been extremely questionable. Maybe he'll suddenly pull the rabbit out of the hat and turn out a great team, but that's what we've been expecting for a long while. Instead of a great young team built through patient careful drafting, we continually tried to patch together a winning team with aged and/or discontented veterans that other teams had passed on. What did that get us? A winning percentage below 20% over the last 5 years.
As to this we scare people stuff well maybe if they are being scared of being hit in the head with a d-cell, but a team with 6 wins in 2 years doesn't scare anyone.
Phillip if your apartment was burning down and the fire department showed up with buckets of water to fight it would you still admire their willingness to 'buck the trend' and not use fire hoses??
Well enough sarcasm, here's to hoping I'm dead wrong and D-mac is the greatest weapon ever to set foot on the field. Guess we'll all know in 6 months :)
3 months ago
Hey Phillip,
Man, I love you bro since you're a fellow Raider fan, but this ain't gonna do much to improve our image with the likes of Mike49er (like it matters) when I point out that YOU PLAGIARIZED THIS.
Here's the original location of this article which I wrote:
http://mvn.com/nfl-chiefs/2008/04/05/why-do-you-hate-the-oakland-raiders/
It's reply #38. I posted under the handle of "It's the Raider Way", so you even plagiarized that in "your" article's title! LOL!
Again, it's no big deal, but you should be glad I don't get paid to write for a living or anything (I'm just a fan like you). Sorry to break up your little party here because I'm sure you're going to catch a rash of you-know-what for this, but you brought it on yourself.
And to Mike49er: So much negative energy, man. I was just talking up my team. Granted, Lott and Romo may not have been the best examples to give of those players who came to the Raiders and actually found success, but they did maintain respectable numbers for their efforts with Oakland and, at least in Romo's case (as well as Rice's, etc.), attended a Superbowl. That of course is along the way with Division titles, playoff wins, all to get there, so I think you see what I meant.
But you clearly illustrate exactly what I was trying to convey when I stated that unless you're a Raider, you just wouldn't understand. Look at how much hate you have for us! You prove my point with your response here.
~ GO RAIDERS! ~
3 months ago
This post was not aimed for the just of late. It's the overall factor on how Al operates his football team. I will be the first to tell you that we don't scare football teams anymore. And that's why people get down on the raiders because they had so many years of getting pushed around by the raiders. I don't want to get into all the facts like the raiders are the only team to go to the super bowl in 4 different decades and such. The raiders will rise again, how far they will take it we shall see. The NFL is a far much better league when the raiders are good.
3 months ago
LOL. Why do those pesky, loser 49-er fans feel compelled to post on Raider Blogs? I'm glad you shut his trap for him. He sounds like some 22 yr old know-it-all. Only a young bonehead would take the time to bash a 4-12 team, when his team is 5-11. lol.
3 months ago
Wow....Phil you did steal your material.. I went to that post chris talked about and your stuff is almost word for word what he wrote, pretty desperate....Go raiders!!
3 months ago
Phil: "Wow Mike49er, i guess it really pissed you off when i mentioned a few of the 49er greats. I have been a raider fan for over 40 years, so i have been around long enough to know that we own the 49ers head to head. Even in your super bowl run years we beat the niners. And you should pay more attention, i said the had some success as a raider, did not mention anything about winning a super bowl."
First off, what's obvious is YOU didn't mention anything..cutting and pasting someone else's words, then backtracking at that is beyond weak, Phil.
Naw, lol...how can it piss me off when you pasted what someone else mentioned? The comments were wrong. Blatantly wrong. Much like most of the post.
And, like the above, you backtracked from the rest as well.
Wise move, considering the torching the post received.
BTW.."some success as a Raider"?? You're actually crowing that a player came to the Raiders, and participated in a game they won, and to you, that's a coup?
Wow..well..in that case..yeah...you guys rock. *rolling eyes*.
3 months ago
Phil: "One more thing Mike49er, I was born in Oakland at lake Merritt hospital. Raised in the east bay in Albany, ca. Season ticket holder since 1980 in Oakland as well as LA, and before that my father had season tickets for the hole family. My first football game was at Keyzar Stadium, 49ers againts the Rams in 1962. I bet i know more about the Niners than you do Skippy, so don't give me that shit i never have been to a raider game. I bet i have gave away more Niner tickets away than you have attended. yeah i get Niner tickets to hand out to clients. The only Niner game i go to is when they are playing the raiders. Who wants t go to that crappy stadium in south Frisco anyway."
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First off, don't EVER run the "Know more about the Niners" drivel. I'll torch you..GUARANTEED.
Read that again..in front of your buddies..regarding the Niners OR THE RAIDERS, you don't stand a chance.
Yeah..bold statements.
Thing is I back up my words.
Tell you what...why don't YOU prove me wrong? lol...you won't..you can't. GUARANTEED.
I'm known for two things on many Raider boards..a pain in the ass, and that I know what I'm talking about.
BTW..because you attended a game way back then doesn't mean you know about the team.
And considering I've had Niner season tickets since '81 (yeah, :) that year that put the dagger into the Raiders forever) while still in high school, and have been going ever since, I seriously doubt the comments about you having given away more tickets than I've attended.
Wise choice to give out Niner tickets to clients. obviously the easier ticket to get is the Raiders..the cheaper available seats are the Raiders, but, honestly, what client looks at receiving raider tickets as something more than no one else wanted them?
As far as Candlestick? And that awful sorry stadium? Where you said "Who would want to attend a game there"?? DIEHARD NINER FANS DO...EACH AND EVERY GAME..IN THAT SORRY WINDY BROKEN DOWN UGLYASS STADIUM..AND HAVE SO FOR 27 STRAIGHT YEARS...yeah..lol...thanks for the setup Phil.
With your upgraded stadium, the Raider fans STILL STAY AWAY, and are the LEAST SUPPORTIVE FANS in the NFL.
In the oldest stadium in the league, Niner fans still show up to support a team that hasn't been to the SB in over a decade.
Dwell on that for a bit..then attempt to take me on regarding the Niners OR THE RAIDERS.
Get help if you think you'll fare better.
3 months ago
Chris posted: "And to Mike49er: So much negative energy, man. I was just talking up my team. Granted, Lott and Romo may not have been the best examples to give of those players who came to the Raiders and actually found success, but they did maintain respectable numbers for their efforts with Oakland and, at least in Romo's case (as well as Rice's, etc.), attended a Superbowl. That of course is along the way with Division titles, playoff wins, all to get there, so I think you see what I meant.
But you clearly illustrate exactly what I was trying to convey when I stated that unless you're a Raider, you just wouldn't understand. Look at how much hate you have for us! You prove my point with your response here.
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Just talking up your team? lol...is that what that was? Sounds like you were tossing out a ton of BS, which I detailed above.
Geez dude..what's with the "I so desperately want to be feared" takes?
Or the "us fans are scary..everyone fears us" take?
And the "unless you're a Raider, you just wouldn't understand."??? LMAO.
What I do know is most Raider fans would look at your post and snicker, knowing that it's a total crock, and that most Raider fans don't think everything is rosy, that most Raider fans are tired of Al's decisions the last 5-10 years, that most Raider fans show up in regular raider gear, and have no desire to put on makeup, or costumes, and..yes..most Raider fans that attend games? Are quite aware that no one fears them..or their team..and that winning regularly is what makes other teams reluctant to want to play them.
And PLEASE..lol..what is it with Raider fans and their "They smack on us because they fear us"?? crappola??
Why is it so hard for some of you to understand the difference?
3 months ago
Ok, everyone, the truth is out....Mike is a closet Raider fan, he just doesn't admit it.
If you look at his comment, he says nothing of value, but seems to be an expert on the Raiders organization. For all we know, he might be Al Davis in disguise.
But we know two things, from what he's said. First of all, he does live in east bay.
And, he can't write a single article singing the praises of the whiner empire.....either because he can't think of anything witty, intellegent, or, for that matter, positive to say.
He could defend the 9ers, in several articles, like, should they bring back Drunkenmiller, or go with Grbac, since Smith is worthless. But instead, he spends his time, wasting it, trying to find fault in dedicated fans.
Go ahead, you can come out of the closet now.
3 months ago
nice job Fitch! and you as well Chirs. let's keep in mind "TEAM" that all great minds think alike ! and that metal sharp'n metal ! go RAIDERS and every hunderth monkey !!!!
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