Oakland Raiders: Does Loyalty Overcome Losing?

After a day of reading, research, and number-crunching for college, I went through my usual routine for the day. Check messages, check the mail, check for packages...and I found my jersey had arrived.

Not some simple, replica mind you. This is an authentic, home jersey, of Ted Hendricks, for the Raiders, No. 83. Hall of Fame player. I had decided a couple weeks ago, if I got a good paycheck off this last run, I'd look into a decent jersey, and finding three options in the right size, picked up the Hendricks.

Shoot, look up his stats; any team would love to have him, just for the ability to block kicks or to tackle a person for a safety.

Then it occurs to me...Sure, Oakland is having a bad year, and except for the 2000-'02 seasons, a bad decade. But if they are this bad, why am I still supporting them? Does loyalty overcome losing?

I could ask a few of the local bleacher fans, who represent other clubs, to stop in, give me a little help with a project.

Take Sayre for the Broncos. I know he's young, and probably doesn't remember the old days of football...times of Elway's failures, but what about the season after Elway retired? Was he deathly loyal to the Broncos, even after Terrell Davis went down, Brian Griese failed, and everything came apart?

Or say Angel, who writes for the New York Jets. There's been some dark days, in the past...were you loyal during those times, or did the heart grow tired of following a club that didn't seem to know how to get off the ground?

The list could go on. Some clubs, like the Cards, had droughts that have been longer than a decade. Or Tampa Bay, who lost every game their first year, and for the longest time was considered a death sentence to be drafted by?

Some people would say I dwell in the past...If this is where your history is the brightest, why not? True, some clubs don't have a past...Others, would rather forget it.

For me, the past, the present, and the future, will remain with the Raiders.

Three rings, over 400 wins, and lots of great memories.