when i moved from illinios the day after high school graduation to california i adopted one team
not the dodgers, who i always rooted for in october, usually against the yankees
not the lakers, who had kareem and magic at the time, who i rooted for as they battled boston
not the kings, who had just scored gretzky, and his lovely wife.
and certainly not the angels, the rams, ucla or usc
i only adopted the raiders
the outcasts
the rebels
the dirty men with dirty faces and dirty hands
who worked hard and played hard
and lived with a spirit that mirrored their owner
a man who chose the colors silver and black because he was colorblind
and wanted the world to see his team the way he did.
“and stop giving juice to the Raiders / cuz Al Davis / never paid us” whined N.W.A in Straight Outta Compton
and i love N.W.A but who was the pimp in that scenario, Ice Cube?
the godfather, the legend, the man who even Darth Vader and Hells Angels bow to.
the man who today was ejected from the game of life,
but will remain the spirit of the scariest football franchise ever.
real Raiders never die, they kick down the door from this realm to the next
in a blizzard of yellow flags.