The Two Eras Of Raider Football

There are two parts to each day. The first part begins as the sun slowly makes it ascent in the east. It progresses as the sun makes its trip across the sky until it reaches the western horizon. What follows is enjoyed by lovers sitting on the beach, and it signals the end of the day. The sun sets and night begins.

If the Oakland/L.A. Raiders were looked at like day and night, this is how it would go: Sunrise would have to be when Al Davis took over the failing organization in 1963. There was the promise of the new day and Davis' commitment to making the Raiders one of the top organizations in professional sports. Davis took over a Raiders squad that went 1-13 in 1962 to narrowly missing the playoffs at 10-4 in 1963.

The sun's journey across the sky would include 21 trips to the playoffs, with 16 division titles, 5 conference titles, and three Super Bowl championships. Those were times when the sun was shining on Oakland/L.A. Being a Raider fan was easy. 

The most memorable moments include Willie Brown's interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl XI, Rod Martin's three interceptions in Super Bowl XV, and Marcus Allen's 74-yard touchdown run against the Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII.

After Super Bowl XVIII, the sun was beginning to set on the organization. Aside from the three superb seasons under coach Jon Gruden, Raider football has been one, long heartbreaking season after another.

Since that 38-9 trouncing of the Washington Redskins, Oakland has made the playoffs just seven times in 25 years. In that same span, the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made the playoffs seven times, the Detroit Lions have been there seven times, and the expansion Jaguars have been there six times.

The Raiders were a once proud organization, but that was a different era. This new era has Oakland in some pretty unflattering company. To be compared to Tampa Bay, Detroit, and even expansion teams says a lot about how far this team has fallen. 

Over that last 100 games the Raiders have played, they are a miserable 25-75. That's a measly 25% winning percentage. When Al Davis and his hound dog (John Herrera) blacklist color analysts (Rich Gannon) and get in vivid discussions with newspaper reporters (Tim Kawakami), it makes one wonder why. The media, the fans, and the rest of the NFL have every right to question what goes on in Oakland.

Davis and the Raiders provide the media fodder for its publications, they steal money from their fans by selling a defective product, and they cost the rest of the NFL money by keeping opposing fans away from fear of being bored to death on a Sunday afternoon.

25-75.

25-75. That puts the Raiders in exactly last place among NFL teams. That's worse than Cleveland. Worse than Detroit. Worse than St. Louis. The saddest thing? Oakland has shown no signs of fixing the problem. The current edition of the Raiders is 1-3 and is the worst team in the NFL.

For Raider Nation it's great to reminisce about the great times this organization once lived through, but the reality is that the franchise has slipped into a deep abyss and its taken its very loyal fan base with it. Oakland and its Nation of followers are currently going through one of the darkest ages of any team's history. You can call this the Raiders Black Hole era and not because of the jersey's they wear.