The Raiders and The City of Oakland Need each other

After Davis’ death in October, The Raiders are in the hands of his
son Mark who wants to put his own stamp on the iconic franchise. The
main reason why The Raiders returned to Oakland was that a deal for a
new stadium in Los Angeles never came to fruition. The Bay Area welcomed
them back with open arms. For the sake of The NFL, The Raiders must
remain in Northern California.

Commissioner Roger Goodell is big on the tradition of the game of
football. The fan support for The Raiders is bigger in much Oakland than
it was in L.A. In 1983, The Raiders won The Super Bowl which was the
team’s second year in Southern California. The love from the fans was
evident but it soon dwindled. It became increasingly tough for The
Raiders to sell out The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum which has a
seating capacity of approximately 92,000 and it also lacks luxury boxes;
which is something that every professional team covets. The fans in
L.A. have been known to be “fair-weather sailors” in supporting teams.
The Los Angeles Lakers of The National Basketball Association are always
a perennial championship contender but people tend to file into The
Staples Center only for the second half of games.

In Oakland fans of The Raiders are some of the most enthusiastic in
sports. The faces are painted while some fans have shoulder pads with
spikes on them. On game day The Oakland Coliseum is a cross between
Halloween and the film entitled “The Road Warrior”. Fans in Oakland
support The Raiders regardless of the team’s record. The team has gone
through some lean years since their last Super Bowl appearance in 2002
which was also the last time that The Raiders had a winning record, but
Raider Nation shows up every Sunday to cheer on the silver and black.

Los Angeles lacks “the black hole” that Oakland has which can be an
intimidating sight for opponents fromm time to time. Along with The
Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, and Pittsburgh Steelers, The Raiders
are one of the most popular franchises in football. The team colors of
silver and black look tough and the team has always had a tough guy rep.
Former Raiders such as Jack Tatum, Ted Hendricks, and Howie Long all
earned reputations of guys that were not to be messed with on the
football field. Just the thought of a wide receiver going over the
middle makes my teeth rattle about the punishment that Tatum would dish
out to opponents. That mantra has been passed on to current Raiders such
as Rolando McClain and Richard Seymour. Neither Seymour or McClain have
a problem in popping an opponent in the face to get a point across.

According to The Washington Post, Davis is also open to sharing a
stadium with The San Francisco 49ers. The Niners will be breaking ground
on a new stadium in Santa Clara for the spring of 2012. The NFL would
not mind two teams splitting the cost of a stadium. In New York, The
Giants and Jets shared Giants Stadium from 1984-2009. Both teams agreed
on building MetLife Stadium which opened in 2010 and both teams appear
to be fine with the arrangement. If The Raiders are unable to secure a
new stadium in Oakland then the best plan would be to share a stadium
with The 49ers in order to keep their strong fan support in Northern
California.