Raiders Ripped from Oakland’s Faithful

In 1960, before the birth of the National Football League, or NFL, the Oakland Raiders were founded as the eighth franchise in the American Football League, or AFL. Some of the most impacting figures in the league have made their name in Oakland, including Al Davis, John Madden, Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, Ken Stabler and Charles Woodson. Along with their great success and historic impact came some catchy nicknames, like “the old silver and black” as well as the team’s loudest, proudest, most rowdy and intimidating fans in all of football, earned the nickname “Raider Nation.”

But after struggling on the field for nearly the past dozen years, on March 27, Raider Nation took what may have been the hardest blow yet, when the NFL approved the Raiders move to Las Vegas, which will happen in 2019.

Nick Hjeltness, editor-in-chief of the FanSided network’s Raiders page, Just Blog Baby and creator of Barbershop Talk said that his feelings on the relocation consisted of mostly “disappointment.” “As a fan of the team who is from and still lives in the Bay Area, it definitely sucks to see them leave. Especially after the rough patch that lasted roughly a dozen years, just as the Raiders are finally a legitimate team, the local fans won’t get to enjoy that in the same fashion as if they would if the team remained in Oakland,” said Hjeltness.

Over the course of the past dozen years or so, the Raiders have struggled to find stability in the two most important spots on their team – the head coach and the quarterback. Between 2005 and 2015, the Raiders cumulative record was 54-122, only a .306 winning percentage. But for the Raiders, 2016 was a year for change. Oakland has found themselves a great head coach in Jack Del Rio and a star, franchise quarterback in Derek Carr, younger brother of ex-NFL quarterback David Carr. In 2016, the Raiders finished with a 12-4 record, earning them their first playoff berth since 2002. Now that the Raiders have ended their lengthy slump, making themselves contenders once again.

For years, the building which Raider Nation has called home, the Oakland Coliseum, has been considered too old of a building and outdated. For years, the franchise has been trying to work out a deal between the City of Oakland, the team itself and sponsors in order to collectively finance a new stadium, but a deal was never able to surface.

And now the Oakland Raiders’ most prized fans-base is set to lose its beloved team to Sin City.

Now that the Raiders will now be taking their franchise quarterback and their young, talented roster 550 miles east to Las Vegas. The next two years in Oakland will most certainly be awkward as their fans know that they will ultimately be leaving. This comes as a detrimental blow to Raider Nation, as they’ve remained in full support of their team, both in hard times and in times of prosperity.

Who IS Raider Nation?

The Oakland Raiders fan-base, through their loud and exuberant ways, in the 70s and 80s had a similar style to the city itself. Oakland was a “nitty-gritty” working-class city who took pride in tough, hard-nosed players like Ted Hendricks, Bob Brown and Ken Stabler. The Raiders’

aggressive style of play earned them a reputation around the league as a team that played dirty; a reputation which owner Al Davis, his players and Raider Nation all took great pride in. The Raiders’ relentless style of play led to their fans’ relentless devotion.

Game day at the Oakland Coliseum is like no other pro sports game. Fans aren’t just entering the game on Sunday, but Raider Nation. To an outsider, Raider Nation could be quite intimidating. Raiders’ fans have always been notorious for extravagant game-day apparel. Raiders’ fans will dress up in full costumes based on the team’s silver and black theme and paraphernalia. Some “super-fans” have even gone as far as creating an alter-ego for the character they are dressed as for games.

Even after the Raiders have announced their relocation to Vegas, the Raiders culture in Vegas will still have a lasting impact. Hjeltness, an Oakland native himself, said that “The Raiders are entrenched into the culture here, and that might still be the case even after the leave, but it won’t be the same.” Another Raiders fan and the founder of The Raider Ramble said “they’ll always be associated with ‘gritty-blue collared-ness’ of Oakland rather than the glitz and glamour of Vegas.”

Money Talks

But Raider Nation pride for their beloved team wasn’t enough to keep them in Oakland. At the end of the day, the NFL is a business and the most important part of a business is the money, and that is exactly what brought the Raiders to Las Vegas.

Moving the Raiders to Vegas won’t be cheap, but that’s where taxpayers, billionaire owners and sponsors all come in. According to CNN Money, the state of Nevada and its taxpayers contributed approximately $750 million towards the new stadium. Another $500 million is coming from Raiders owner, Mark Davis, and the rest will be paid for by a sponsor, Bank of America. The total cost of the stadium is estimated at a whopping $1.9 million.

To a Raiders fan, Nick Hjeltness said that “this feels like Mark Davis is taking a $750 million handout from public funding without thinking of the long-term. The Raiders will now be moving from one of the largest markets in the NFL to one of its smallest.”

Vegas – A Bad Market?

While the Raiders’ move to Vegas is clearly all about the money, this could prove to be a move that yields a financial benefit in the short-term, but perhaps not long-term.

According to News Generation, the Raiders current market, which is the “San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA” market, is ranked at the sixth largest market in the entire country. By moving to Vegas, the Raiders will be down-sizing their market size tremendously.

When the Raiders make it to Vegas, they will be arriving to what will be considered the NFL’s fifth smallest media market, with only 719,000 TV households, according to CBS Sports. Atlanta Falcons owner, Arthur Blank, expressed the concern that the city “might not be big enough” to support an NFL team from a media and ratings standpoint.

Aside from the size of the media market, marketing anything in Vegas is an entirely different beast. “Having to rely on mostly tourism to fill seats is a risky proposition. Week in and week out, Mark Davis needs fans from the Bay Area to fly into town for the weekend,” said Hjeltness. While he doesn’t anticipate this being a problem in the short-term, long-term, this could be an issue. Hjeltness raised the point of “What about 10-15 years from now? When the ‘honeymoon phase’ is over and if the team finds themselves with a 3-13 record. Will fans still want to travel?” This move to Vegas could be a risky business move for owner Mark Davis and his Raiders.

Will the Vegas Environment Steer Players in Wrong Direction?

There have been a countless number of instances in the NFL in which we’ve watched players destroy their careers with off-the-field troubles. What better city to do so than Las Vegas? With the Raiders move to Vegas, much attention has been placed on the potential for players to get in trouble given they are in a tempting environment, full of trouble to be found. “The Vegas environment is certainly a problem and it will be,” said Tovar. “Del Rio is the head coach, not a babysitter; I’m sure there will be problems like with any other team, but it will be over-analyzed since they will be in Vegas.” Hopefully we will see a great level of maturity from Raiders players with temptation staring them right in the face.

Will Raider Nation Remain Loyal?

Raider Nation has proven themselves time and time again to be some of the most passionate, most loyal fans in all of football. NFL fans must ponder whether Raider Nation will jump ship, or remain loyal to the “old silver and black.” Tovar from The Raider Ramble believes that “most fans will continue to support the team in my opinion, but many of the Oakland natives have certainly shown that they will stop following the team, but life goes on; the Raiders and Raider Nation will go on.” Hjeltness from Just Blog Baby and Barbershop Talk expressed a similar feeling of optimism regarding Raider Nation. “Most (fans) are upset,” said Hjeltness. “But the vast majority will stick with the team. We’re all far too invested into this team to just jump ship. Being a fan of a sports team doesn’t work like a switch you can turn on and off. So much as I am disappointed, once a Raider, always a Raider. While Raider Nation is most certainly disgruntled by the thought of their team leaving, don’t anticipate a lack of loyalty from Raider Nation.

 

[WATCH AND LISTEN: Podcast Interview with Raiders Super-Fan Dylan Kaplan from Oakland]

 

 

[STORIFY]: Raiders Fans React to Relocation on Twitter