Oakland Raiders: The Love of Our Lives Is Faithful on Any Given Day

You don't have to remind the Raider Nation that the Oakland Raiders have a 2-4 win-loss record this season. Even so, many of the fans still wear their gear, and look forward to the next game.

Sometimes I drive about 90 miles to visit a man who loves the Oakland Raiders, no matter what the record is. He has a steady gaze and look of concern when you ask him about the Raiders.

I know to stay positive with him. He will not tolerate any other attitude. I think that what is perplexing to him and to others in the Raider Nation is the fact that the team is very talented, but the wins are here and there.

What's the problem? Is it a problem of lack of commitment to excellence? Are some of them afraid to be hit?

While I am writing this article, a commercial aired on television, and a man yelled "Do you wanna be a champ or a chump?"

Well, that is a timely question. Do these young, talented players for the Oakland Raiders want to be perceived as future champions or as chumps?

In the '60s, many of the guys who attended the college I attended fought hard to become champions. Losing was not an option. Winning was the goal, and they aggressively pursued that goal.

Let's look at some historical data in 1967 from Pro Football Reference.

						Rushing							Receiving
No.		Age	Pos	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	Lng	R/G	Y/G	YScm	RRTD	Fmb
35	Hewritt Dixon*	27	FB	13	0	153	559	5	40	3.7	43.0	11.8	59	563	9.5	2	48	4.5	43.3	1122	7	6
36	Clem Daniels	30	HB	9	0	130	575	4	52	4.4	63.9	14.4	16	222	13.9	2	40	1.8	24.7	797	6	2
40	Pete Banaszak	23	fb	10	0	68	376	1	47	5.5	37.6	6.8	16	192	12.0	1	72	1.6	19.2	568	2	0
30	Roger Hagberg	28		12	0	44	146	2	11	3.3	12.2	3.7	11	114	10.4	1	25	0.9	9.5	260	3	1
22	Larry Todd	25		5	0	29	116	2	16	4.0	23.2	5.8	4	42	10.5	0	17	0.8	8.4	158	2	0
3	Daryle Lamonica*+	26	QB	14	14	22	110	4	26	5.0	7.9	1.6								110	4	3
38	Estes Banks	22		9	0	10	26	0	13	2.6	2.9	1.1								26	0	0
81	Warren Wells	25		14	0	1	7	0	7	7.0	0.5	0.1	13	302	23.2	6	50	0.9	21.6	309	6	0

In 1968 there are very impressive numbers.

Rushing							Receiving
No.		Age	Pos	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Lng	Y/A	Y/G	A/G	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	Lng	R/G	Y/G	YScm	RRTD	Fmb
35	Hewritt Dixon*+	28	FB	14	13	206	865	2	28	4.2	61.8	14.7	38	360	9.5	2	41	2.7	25.7	1225	4	5
23	Charlie H. Smith	22		14	3	95	504	5	65	5.3	36.0	6.8	22	321	14.6	2	43	1.6	22.9	825	7	5
40	Pete Banaszak	24	HB	13	11	91	362	4	43	4.0	27.8	7.0	15	182	12.1	1	49	1.2	14.0	544	5	6
30	Roger Hagberg	29		14	1	39	164	1	16	4.2	11.7	2.8	8	78	9.8	1	22	0.6	5.6	242	2	0
3	Daryle Lamonica	27	QB	13	13	19	98	1	28	5.2	7.5	1.5								98	1	4
22	Larry Todd	26		3	0	13	89	2	31	6.8	29.7	4.3	4	40	10.0	0	18	1.3	13.3	129	2	0
37	Preston Ridlehuber	25		10	0	4	7	0	10	1.8	0.7	0.4								7	0	1
81	Warren Wells*	26	SE	14	12	2	38	1	41	19.0	2.7	0.1	53	1137	21.5	11	94	3.8	81.2	1175	12	2

Reflect on the names and numbers during that era. It is wonderful and exciting data. 

In the listed data you will see the name of a very good quarterback and a very good wide receiver.

The focus of this discussion is that there were very good players, but most of all there were very good wide receivers who caught and held on to the football.

Do the Oakland Raiders have very good wide receivers now? Is the quarterback the problem, or could it be that the wide receivers are not in the right place at the right time?

Who is this senior Oakland Raider who tends to be in the right place at the right time? It is Mr. Warren Wells. Today, when my intuition said to drive 90 miles to see him, it worked. He was sitting near his favorite spot and I wanted to ask him about the Broncos.

He let me know that he watches the games. He had his Oakland Raiders hat on his head. He was in the right place somewhat like he used to be during his playing days.

All that can be said is the Oakland Raiders are the love of this great player's life. You can catch him at any given time, and he is contemplative about the current challenges of the Oakland Raiders, the love of his life. It is a team that so many still love.

On any given day, the Raider Nation is faithful and hopeful of more wins in the future.

Daryl Lamonica, Warren Wells, George Blanda and other greats established a powerful heritage during those days.

The Oakland Raiders stomped the Denver Broncos for five consecutive years from 1967 to 1971, which is the focus in this article.

Let's hope the Raiders stomp the Broncos in 2010.

1967,  21-17, Oakland won

1968, 43-7,  Oakland won

1969, 24-14, Oakland won

1970, 24-19, Oakland won

1971, 27-16, Oakland won

On any given day, "back in the day" the Oakland Raiders defeated the Denver Broncos.

Let history repeat itself. Go Raiders!