Just Believe...once more

Ireland entered three international breaks in pole position of Group D this year. And before each break, I wrote articles imploring them to seize the initiative, to gamble big on their advantage. I had every faith they’d do it each time. Even entering the third of those three breaks, I expected them to win in Georgia and go toe-to-toe with Serbia with 1^st place up for grabs.

We now enter the fourth international break hanging on by our fingertips.


In my last series of articles, I mentioned that I suffered a broken ankle. The break itself and subsequent recovery have been tough. I took for granted being able bodied and fending for myself beforehand. It’s not something I’d wish on anyone I have time for. Nor is it something I want to experience again. However, watching Ireland playing Georgia in Tbilisi at the end of August did something I never thought possible. They made me extremely grateful I broke my ankle and cancel my trip to Tbilisi. Lying back on the couch watching that game was one of the most uncomfortable experiences I’ve had watching my country. It was that bad, horrific to watch. A display rife with an inability to create or string together a few passes, being outplayed by a team that were ranked 112^th in the world at the time. Thing is that even if Ireland had even played 50% better, Georgia were still worthy of a result greater than 1-1. Our old failings, scoring early and retreating, a lack of confidence, hoofing the ball forward aimlessly and relying on half chances all came back to haunt us. The result surrendered our advantage and left us in a predicament. However that took a backseat in favour of overwhelming negativity that took its place in driving seat of criticism aimed at the team and management afterwards.


We now had to beat Serbia the following Tuesday to maintain our hopes of not only trying to win the group but our chances of making the playoffs. Serbia were a different animal from the one we nabbed a point from in the opening game. They were now a far more organised team, brimming with quality. And they knew our situation, as they were quite happy to soak up whatever pressure we applied on the night.­ Our performance in comparison to the previous game was much better. Not that it would be hard to better it. However, our need for three points was greater than Serbia’s and their game-plan paid off handsomely by catching us out on the break when Aleksandr Kolarov struck a bullet into the roof of the net past Randolph early in the 2^nd half. Amidst the negativity from the weekend, along with the infuriating gamesmanship displayed by Serbia and Cuneyt Cakirs inability to punish it, we couldn’t rise above it. 1-0 was how it finished. We are now five points behind Serbia, and more alarmingly, one point behind Wales in third, having held a four point advantage over them less than a week previous.





If the year of 2016 would go down in Irish football history, it’s quite possible we’ll want 2017 stricken from the record. The parallels with our Euro 96 qualifying campaign to the current one are eerie. That was a campaign where Ireland topped the table with 13 points from 15 after five games, grabbing a home win over Portugal at halfway stage. Our next game would see us draw 0-0 away to Liechtenstein, a result that still beggars belief 22 years on. In the remaining four games, we would acquire only 3 points, from an ugly 2-1 home win against Latvia. Coupled with two 3-1 defeats to Austria, Ireland went into their final game against Portugal needing a win to guarantee qualification. We would suffer a 3-0 defeat in the heavy Lisbon rain. Had we conceded anymore, then Northern Ireland could have overtaken us into 2^nd place. As the Jack Charlton era was free-falling into tragic end, remarkably, it was the North who done the Republic a massive favour by beating Austria in their final game as it ensured Ireland would enter a playoff against the Netherlands, which we would also lose. Both teams had the ignominy as finishing the worst runner ups out of all 10 groups.
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Nowadays the worst runners-up are excluded from the playoffs. And 22 years later, we are still relying on other teams results to get us over the line. Before Thursday evening came around, I was liable to lay into the situation as it stood for Ireland and conclude this article with a prayer. That was before Scotland entered the equation. You remember them? The country I mercilessly had no time for as we battled it out for a playoff spot in Euro 2016 qualifying. The country whose Tartan Army I, and many other Irish fans, were telling to fuck off while we partied towards qualification. Well if we hadn’t returned to liking them again we were flat out roaring for them against Slovakia. Chance after chance after hitting the post twice after chance with an extra man advantage fell their way until they forced Martin Skrtel to score an own goal in the 89^th minute. As it stands, they only need a win in their last game away to Slovenia to qualify for the playoffs. Ireland need them to do anything but that. In the space of half an hour, we’ve gone from begging them to win to hoping they don’t win for the rest of the year. If they do fail to win in Slovenia, then all Ireland will need to do is win against Moldova and Wales.


The other threat is Bosnia and Herzegovina. They’re also familiar, as we knocked them out in a playoff to qualify for Euro 2016. As of now, they have two games left against Belgium, who are already qualified, and Estonia, who sit second last in the group. It’s quite possible Bosnia can still gather six points that will be counted in the final tally. The tally in question is for the Ranking of second-placed teams. It rules out the results you’ve obtained against the worst team in your group to determine your points tally. This is what amplified the negative soundbites from our last international outing, the seemingly irreparable damage it had done to our qualifying hopes. Winning our last two games would leave us with 13 points in that table and that seemed like it would not be enough, barring other teams messing up on our behalf. We’d gone from slugging it out for first place to needing miracles to get a playoff spot. Such is the beauty of football that everything has spun on its head to give us hope once more. Oh, and Gareth Bale is out of Wales final two qualifiers. The momentum is slowly building towards the Promised Land once more after nearly a month of despondency.

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OK, I shouldn’t believe the hype. I orchestrated enough of it this year to have fall flat on my face. We came into 2017 in a superb position and I firmly believed we would rubber stamp our visas to Russia for next year without the need for a playoff. Right now I’ll take a playoff spot no matter how ugly it gets in our next two games. And it was pretty ugly last month. Although I say that, our performance against Serbia was much improved, until we went behind. It suddenly prompted O’Neill to take off Wes Hoolahan, the architect behind our good passing play and put on Daryl Murphy, a target man whose overall contribution to the team shouldn’t go unnoticed in this campaign. However, on this occasion, Ireland reverted to type, lumping long aimless balls into the box with no design, only hope. This was more galling given Serbia had a man sent off in the 68^th minute. Much like our advantage against Wales, we still couldn’t make the most of it. It was galling to watch, especially considering that given the opening half, we played some decent football. The football we played with an extra man was infuriating, cowardly even. Our players are far better than route one and we should have showed that when we needed it most.


Ireland need to win both games, regardless of what happens when Wales play Georgia tonight. We will beat Moldova. By how much is irrelevant seeing as those results will be void when it comes but we need goals. Ireland have only scored 6 goals in the calendar year of 2017. Four of them came in friendlies. Shane Long has not scored since the opener away to Moldova in October last year. James McClean is our highest goalscorer this campaign with two, both coming in that same Moldova game. We’ll never see the likes of Robbie Keane again but by jesus I didn’t expect us to suffer a goal drought like this after he retired. The lack of goals has been the catalyst behind the campaign for Seanie Maguire’s international call-up. The Cork man was on fire scoring goals galore for Cork City in the League of Ireland before moving to the Championship for Preston during the summer. Since then he has managed to score twice so far for his new club. He made the provisional squad last time out before being cut but even O’Neill can’t ignore our woeful strike rate. In addition to Maguire, Scott Hogan has received his first call-up to the squad alongside another uncapped forward in Aiden O’Brien. Hogan, who has been on the radar for more than a year finally secured his Irish passport last month and although his start to the 2017-18 season for Aston Villa has been quiet, he scored 15 goals in the Championship last season, more than Daryl Murphy and David McGoldrick (both in the squad) combined. How much time any of these new recruits will get remains to be seen but against Moldova, we shouldn’t fear trying something new up front.

Randolph will remain our No.1. You couldn’t fault him for either goal conceded against Georgia and Serbia and since moving to Middlesbrough during the summer, he has been in fine form. It would be surprising if O’Neill decide to change the back four of Christie, Duffy, Clark and Ward for these two games. It would be fantastic if Ward can replicate his delightful Premier League form for Burnley of late for Ireland this weekend. The same can be said of Jeff Hendrick, whose return should be a timely boost for an Irish midfield under severe pressure to deliver. David Meyler’s performance against Serbia earned a him a Man of the Match award and it will surely give him a starting role against Moldova Friday night to put him in the frame for Mondays showdown. Whatever technical ability he may lack, his heart and desire in covering the ground and putting tackles in was excellent against the Serbs. It was also potentially a death knell in Glenn Whelan’s Ireland career, whose toothless display against Georgia was one too many for O’Neill it seems. Conor Hourihane made an appearance in the Serbia encounter but had little effect that evening. That being said, it showed O’Neills faith in him and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was given another chance at some stage against Moldova.


Jon Walters is injured which is a blow while McClean and Brady are suspended, which is no harm in my opinion. Brady has not been the same since Euro 2016, much like myself. He has been inserted into a free role of sorts with the No.10 jersey that has left him completely lost in every Ireland game he’s played since. He is a shadow of the goal and set piece threat that was utilised on the left flank in the last campaign. I hope his suspension does one of two things. I hope it convinces O’Neill he shouldn’t be played centrally against Wales and/or give McGeady the start his form in the last year has been crying out for. Heck I’ve been crying out for it in my last 3 Ireland related articles. And in those key games (excluding Serbia, for which he was injured) he got a mere 53 minutes in total to replicate that form, all from the bench. He featured for 29 minutes against Georgia and was more direct than any other Irish player that night. It didn’t reap any reward nor did it spare McGeady any of the backlash that followed. However, against Moldova, he has to be given a starting role. He has continued his good club form since joining Sunderland in the summer. His effect as an impact sub is muted so I think it’s imperative he starts the game so he can influence it from the beginning. Ireland are crying out for creativity in the final third.

It was announced yesterday that Martin O’Neill and assistant manager Roy Keane have signed contract extensions and will lead us into the next campaign. Few saw that coming given the backlash they received last month. The timing is vintage FAI, I would have far preferred seeing how we performed in these final two games before thinking about extensions. However, O’Neill has not done a terrible job. We did qualify for Euro 2016 and we began this campaign as 4^th seeds. There is definitely scope for improvement and we have to see new blood coming into the squad. Wales gambled on Ben Woodburn last month and the 17 year old popped up to score the winner against Austria. I would love to see faith like that rewarded this weekend and especially in the future. What makes our poor performances even more frustrating is that we have seen our players perform, not only at club level but in the green shirt too when it matters most. Both tonight and on Monday, it matters more than ever. Like against Italy in June 2016 or in Paris 8 years ago, our backs are against the wall, we need to come out fighting for our lives.


I tweeted (@FCr_91) last night that we should not ignore the Gary McKay comparisons, the dominoes are falling one result at a time. After the last month of negativity, I will travel to the Aviva on one crutch, with renewed hope. On the ferry to Wales Saturday evening, I will believe. #COYBIG

The Silver & Black

Anyone with an iota of interest in sport should browse through the full list of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. And I can guarantee two things. They’ll find an episode relevant to them and their interests and that they’ll thoroughly enjoy it too. One evening some years ago, Irish sports broadcaster Setanta Sports were showing ‘17th July 1994’. This was one such ESPN effort that relayed the events of that fateful day when several high profile sporting events coincided with mass media event that was OJ Simpson’s car chase. It was a well-crafted piece of television that I enjoyed. It would be a year or so later, when in search for this episode, that I came across many more. They were all a part of a series ESPN were creating in honour of their 30^th anniversary as a broadcaster. Although my main interests of Soccer and GAA weren’t well represented, there was still some titles that immediately jumped out at me. ‘The 16^th Man’ (Nelson Mandela’s impact on the South African Rugby team and the country in the 1995 World Cup) and ‘The Two Escobars’, widely lauded as one of the best sport documentaries ever made. A lot of the American Sport stuff went over my head except for one. Straight Outta L.A.


I have ESPN and in particular Ice Cube to thank for starting my devotion to an NFL team on the West Coast of America.


The Oakland Raiders.


I like Ice Cube as a rap artist and a film maker (he’s done some good stuff to be fair). And even before I watched Straight Outta L.A., I came across a song he recorded called “Come And Get It”. It was a song for the Oakland Raiders and their fans, collectively called the Raider Nation. He was listing off names that at the time had no meaning or relevance to me. It sure as hell sounded good though. Ice Cubes lyrical flow was one thing, the names he was dropping was another. And I would soon put faces and reputations to these names in watching the documentary itself. In 1982, the Raiders moved from Oakland to Los Angeles. It wasn’t long before they began to captivate the minority communities in the city with a swagger and charisma that personified their new home. This swagger and charisma soon found itself inspiring one individual in a rap group called N.W.A. Both the Raiders and N.W.A. would ascend to the top of their respective environments and would inspire each other to a new generation. As N.W.A broke new ground in hip-hop music, the Raiders would swagger their way to winning Superbowl XVIII. Under the leadership of Tom Flores and key players such as Marcus Allen, Lester Hayes, Howie Long, Jim Plunkett et. al. the source of this charisma stemmed from the top, from their owner. From Al Davis.


While watching this documentary, I was fascinated by Davis. At the time of filming, he was 80 years of age, and his body was failing him. However, you could immediately sense his passion, his desire, his pride in talking about the Raiders and their mystique. He was still the owner and general manager yet to quantify his contribution to the Raiders in titles would be remiss. Quintessentially, he was the man who defined the Raiders from when he first joined them in 1963 to his death in 2011. Unlike any other team owner, this was an individual who did it his way. He never let the culture of the NFL or the America itself at any time tell him what to do. He moulded the team in his own image and philosophy. In his own words, he wanted “to build the finest organisation in professional sports”. However he wanted to give certain traits if he was going to do so. To give them a distinct identity of a fearless attitude and take all mentality. He started out as a coach in Los Angeles before moving to Oakland and immediately applied this bravado to his coaching. When asked to define his philosophy, he replied “Take what they give you.’ That all sounds good to everybody but I always went the other way, ‘We’re going to take what we want!” 5 years coaching the Raiders laid the groundwork for the culture that followed. When he returned as general manager a few years later, his approach transferred to the management of his team. Even in conversation with Ice Cube, he still oozed a defiance and an authority that made him one of the most iconic people in the NFL’s history. He said “history will dictate what my legacy is. Maverick is fine, cause I am”.


The Raiders would soon be regarded as footballs evil empire and Davis never held back in perpetuating that image. Throughout his career, he was embroiled in lawsuits and legal battles with the League and many others. Everything ranging from rule changes to relocation matters, Davis fought tooth and nail for his Raiders. It took two years of court cases alone for him to successfully move his franchise from Oakland to Los Angeles. It wasn’t because he thrived upon conflict, or sought confrontation. He felt it wasn’t important to be consistent, it was important to be right. Such views on life saw him pave the way for minority coaches in the NFL, and provide an outlet for those players whose careers had stalled. He was an individual who did it his own way, and wasn’t interested in seceding to popular opinion or tradition. His facet for creative slogans could have fooled you into thinking he was a marketing genius. Coining phrases such as “Commitment To Excellence” and “Just Win, Baby” became slogans for the franchise, for the Raider way of life. And winning, was something he done a lot. The move to Los Angeles saw them win a third Superbowl. It also gave them a whole host of new fans. N.W.A. often wore Black Raiders memorabilia in promo shoots or press conferences to match their rebellious outlook on life. Snoop Dogg followed suit. The minority communities of the city and county aligned themselves to the Raiders and would soon be selling out the 90’000 seated capacity of the Los Angeles Coliseum. While the Raiders would eventually return to Oakland in 1995, the impact of their time spent in LA is still felt to this day. Fans actively campaigned to have them return to Hollywood two years ago. However, their fanbase stretches far beyond those two cities.


The NFL has a growing worldwide presence. The most recent Superbowl viewing figures peaked at 172 million. Social Media accounts of the 32 teams in the NFL are always on hand to present images of fans across the World. The NFL has been hosting regular season games in London since 2007 and last year returned to Mexico City for a match-up that involved the Houston Texans and yes, the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders will once again be returning to the Azteca Stadium in 2017 for an eagerly awaited match-up with the reigning Superbowl champions New England Patriots. What influenced Al Davis’ decision to perpetuate an image of outlaws and villains for his franchise was the city of Oakland itself. It’s working-class background, compared to its neighboring city of San Francisco lent itself to an underdog status. Davis set the mould in place. Players, like Ken Stabler, Jack Tatum, Ted Hendricks and many more played a kind of football that followed suit. Before long the fans embraced every aspect of a rebel pirate fantasy that is cited as the foundation of the Raider Nation and its image. Elaborate costumes, alter egos, a distinct silver and black colour scheme centered around a section of the Alameda Coliseum called the Black Hole. These fans would take pride in the image associated with Raiders. Aside from Ice Cube, other celebrity fans of the Raiders include: Metallica lead vocalist James Hetfield, actor Tom Hanks (who grew up in the nearby city of Concord, CA), rapper and Oakland native MC Hammer. When the team moved to LA in the 80’s, Tiger Woods became an instant life-long fan. The aforementioned allegiance amongst minorities in the city, coupled with a return to Oakland in the 90’s gave way to the label of a Raider Nation. Their support spread throughout the US and turned the team into an internationally transcendent brand; notorious for their culture and their unrelenting devotion.


The very next day after watching this 30 for 30 documentary, I logged onto a Sport streaming website and saw American Football games on. The Oakland Raiders were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in a regular season game. I turned it on and saw the Raiders prevail 21 points to 18 points. It wasn’t a classic but from that evening on I have followed them. It wasn’t my first introduction to American Football. I had watched a couple of Superbowls previously. I would not watch a single second of the regular season or playoffs before it but once the Superbowl was on the TV listings, I thought, Why Not? Of course my parents wouldn’t have let me stay up til 4 on a school night back then even if Ireland were in the World Cup (although that scenario never did arise sadly). I would watch the first quarter live before taping the rest and going to bed. I bucked that approach in 2008 for Superbowl XLII. I thought I found an allegiance to the New York Giants based on their blue uniforms, and their stunning upset victory in that Superbowl over the New England Patriots. I was wrong. The next time I made an effort to watch the Giants was 4 years later in Superbowl 46, against the Patriots again. And the next time I watched them after that was in Week 9 of the 2013 season against the Oakland Raiders. I couldn’t identify with the Giants. And maybe deep down, no part of me would shout for the Patriots. Which makes a lot of sense as a Raider fan today.


I wasn’t so much watching for the sport back then but for the hype, the glamour, the event that was the Superbowl. When I first began to follow the Raiders, there was none of that. The franchise was so far removed from the Superbowl that it was almost a relic of the NFL. Its glory days well past, its brief resurgence in the early 00’s a tragic story. What followed since their heavy defeat in Superbowl XXXVII to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a decade and more of inferiority on and off the field. No winning season, no divisional playoff, no playoff appearance, few players worthy of mention on the highlight reel, games and plays that were often featured on a gag reel if nothing else. Coaches who were inept and an owner who seemed a shadow of the maverick figure who created a dynasty of greatness. Draft picks had bombed. There was a growing consensus amongst American Football fans that Davis had lost it. He was now a crazy old man stuck in the past with his ideals. Much ignored is the fact that Al Davis was on the verge of creating a team just about to make the playoffs once again. In hiring his sixth head coach in nearly a decade, Hue Jackson, the Raiders almost made the playoffs under his guidance in 2011. They lost their final game to the San Diego Chargers where a win would have guaranteed their place in the postseason. Davis wouldn’t live to see this, passing away 2 months earlier at the age of 82.


The organisation has taken a different road since his passing. However it’s not been without its setbacks. When I started watching the Raiders, they were midway through the second season under head coach Dennis Allen. Allen was a high pitched unintimidating young man who didn’t inspire confidence in either me or, it seems, his players. Two consecutive seasons were spent winning 4 games and losing twelve. I’m keen to stress at all times, that I never jumped on any bandwagon. In that 2013 season, I watched two wins against Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans. In between and after those games, I saw disasters. Conceding 56 and 49 points respectively to Kansas City and the Philadelphia Eagles, last minute defeats in high scoring but ultimately one score margin of defeats. The Raiders of 2013 generally played terrible football. It continued into 2014 when, even after sacking Allen after four games, the Raiders would go onto lose their first ten games of the season. They were a laughing stock and expected to finish the season without winning a game.

Why did I stick around? I was watching these games that stretched 3 or 4 hours long to see a team lose week in week out? There was talent, a brilliance in the Raiders that just wasn’t consistent enough. Part of me easily related to the defiance of following a struggling team, against the odds. Ireland was the prime example, underdogs who always punched above their weight. We’d reach World Cups during the 90’s and again in 2002 but miss out ever since (to this day). In GAA, since I’ve been born, Galway have ended droughts of 32 years in football and 29 years in hurling before they would win All-Ireland titles. In Soccer, I followed Liverpool and Celtic when I was growing up. Liverpool’s trials speak for themselves whereas Celtic were struggling to finish 2^nd, never mind 1^st in their domestic league during the 90’s. They would of course famously stop their great rivals Rangers, from doing 10 in a row in 1998 when I was only 7 years old. In Europe, the allure and prospect of facing the big teams and recording an upset captivating the imagination of many football fans. While I would love for teams I follow to be consistently successful, the moments where droughts end, upsets happen, or performances where everything clicks are a joy to watch. You’ve been there when it’s woeful, and don’t know what to do with yourself when everything goes perfect.

Aside from the Raiders mystique and their brief sparks of light, I studied their entire history while waiting for the 2014 NFL season to begin. I learnt of their dominance, their Superbowl success, their great players and near misses. The highs and lows of the entire franchise I recounted through documentaries, YouTube and articles online. I began to develop an affinity to a team and a sport I never gave a seconds thought years previous. Their culture and identity just resonated with me in a way no other NFL team could ever do. The Raiders were my team and that was that. I see far more Tom Brady jerseys in Ireland than Raiders apparel but I feel content in the knowledge he cheated his way past them on his way to his first Superbowl. It’s not important to be consistent, it’s important to be right. Soon Sunday evenings in the Autumn were all about sitting back in my chair, maybe with a drink or two by my side, firing up the laptop, finding a good stream and watching the Raiders in action. At half-time, there would usually be a Pizza, (another great love affair I’ll speak about if I ever have a food blog) and all the while I would be tweeting about the game in progress. I’ve 256 followers on Twitter, nearly half of which are Raider fans or relevant accounts. We’d laugh, cry, curse to the high heavens and celebrate for the Silver and Black until the final play had passed.

The Raiders turned a corner in that 2014 season. After going 0-10, they would record their first win against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday Night Football. I roared to my hearts content at 4:30am when they secured a late win. I roared like they’d just win a Superbowl. Primetime games meant extremely late nights for myself. Regardless if I’m working the next day, I would follow every play as usual and suffer for it the next morning. They would win twice more that season but it was beginning to become apparent that their draft picks, under new General Manager Reggie MacKenzie, were the cornerstones to better things ahead. Derek Carr at Quarterback and Defensive End Khalil Mack signified the beginning of a new era. They would find guidance under a new head coach Jack Del Rio and they not only began to be competitive, they started winning games more regularly. The 2015 season saw the Raiders finish 7-9, another losing season but one that held positives throughout. It was the benchmark for what followed. In 2016, the Raiders would end the regular season with a 12-4 record. Their first winning season in 14 years, confirming their first post-season appearance in the playoffs in the same period. The majority of those wins were often secured with the last play of the game, in the final seconds. The mantra for the season was set in the very first game. Down 34-27 to the New Orleans Saints, Carr led the Raiders down the field to an equalising touchdown score. However, instead of going for an extra point to tie the game, Del Rio decided to go for two, an incredibly risky move. However, Carr found Wide Reciever Michael Crabtree for the two-point conversion and the win. The Silver and Black were Back!

It was incredibly exciting watching the Raiders dominate once more. They were winning, but they were doing it in such an exciting passion that it was liable to give you a heart attack watching them win. I hear such distain for American Football that it irritates me greatly when anyone dismisses it. Sure the broadcasts are long, but once you understand the game, it can be the most exciting thing you can watch in sport. There was never a dull moment following the Raiders in 2016 and talk began to surface that this team were dark horses for the Superbowl. They had a porous defence defending the deep pass but their attack was unstoppable. They had a young fearless quarterback and a head coach willing to risk everything to win. Everything was going perfect until the penultimate game, where Carr would break his leg being tackled. Despite the efforts of his back-ups, the Raiders were a shadow of the offensive threat they were during the season and exited the playoffs in the first round to the Houston Texans. I sat in a pub that night drowning my sorrows.

Since the 2016 season has ended, Mark Davis, son of Al and current owner of the Raiders, successfully earned the right to relocate the team to Las Vegas in a landmark move for the NFL and indeed the franchise. Davis had sought for years to find a new stadium in Oakland and LA before deciding on building one in Sin City. It’s a move I don’t agree with. Personally it doesn’t affect me one bit living in Ireland but a huge part of the Raiders identity was forged in Oakland and later Los Angeles that it comes across as a smack in the face to the people and city of Oakland. While it is argued the City could have done more to keep them, I don’t think the Raiders themselves did everything they could to stay home. For a local fanbase who stuck by through thick and thin in the last 22 years since they returned, it was terrible to think that just when the team was returning to the top, they were going to leave again. I feel terrible for die hard locals who have lost their team for the second time around. I didn’t know what to think about the future itself but as the 2017 season grew closer, I couldn’t ignore the passion I have for the team itself. I have grave doubts about the move to Vegas and will wait and see how it pans out. However, for the time being, they are the Oakland Raiders. If ice Cube could remain loyal even when they left LA, why can’t I do the same?

Today the 2017 season for the Raiders begins with a trip to play the Tennessee Titans. Just like last year, I have a great excitement brewing inside about the season ahead. Regardless of the outcome, I’m a member of the Raider Nation, no matter what. Ice Cube and Al Davis ignited a passion that will continue burn long into the future.