What's the best part about a Chargers-Raiders game?

By: LOREN NELSON - Staff Writer | Sunday, October 14, 2007 9:50 AM PDT ∞

What's the best part about a Chargers-Raiders game?
By: MARC FIGUEROA - Staff Writer

The Freaks
Never mind the crazy face painting and the gaudy, often scary Halloween costumes that give Raiders fans their own Mad Max-like identity not found anywhere else in the NFL.

To truly get a sense of Al Davis loyalists, all one has to do is spend five minutes with one of them. It will become immediately clear that while they're fiercely loyal and loaded with inebriated enthusiasm, they're also delusional and completely insane.

To hear a Raiders fan tell it, the Silver and Black should have won every Super Bowl ever played. If it wasn't for a blown coverage here or a bad call there, the Lombardi Trophy would be in Oakland right now. They'll tell you that last year's 2-14 season was this close to becoming one of the greatest seasons in the history of the franchise. If you bring up the Raiders' embarrassing 48-21 loss to Tampa Bay in the 2002 Super Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium, they'll probably tell you that Bucs coach Jon Gruden stole signs and cheated their way to victory. In their minds, someone's always out to get them. There's one great big conspiracy theory to keep the Raiders down.

I guess every sect has its lunatic fringe. Animal rights activists have PETA, global warming fanatics have Al Gore and football has the Raidahs. And that's what I love about Raiders fans. They're crazy, and they know it. They actually embrace it and wear it as a badge of honor.

Engaging a fan at Qualcomm Stadium is one thing, but the true spirit of these freaks is up in Oakland. On their home turf, they roast pigs, blast AC/DC music so loud that it breaks the sound barrier, and empty every liquor cabinet north of San Jose. It's Mardi Gras.

I know first-hand because my brother is a Bay Area guy and he escorted me to a Raiders-Jets Sunday night game several years back. Now keep in mind that the game actually was set to kick off after 5 p.m. But we showed up lock, stock and barrel at 7 a.m., an hour before the gates opened and a full 10 hours before game time. And you know what's freakish about that? We were late.

There were hundreds of cars already lined up in front of us, barbecuing and passing around a jug of Bloody Marys. They weren't even in the parking lot yet and the party had already started.

That's what I love about Raiders fans. They're freaking crazy. They're everything a football fan should be in today's day and age. They talk crazy, they act crazy, and they look crazy. And in no way, shape or form are they delusional about who they are.

I know it's hard for Chargers fans to accept this, but we can learn something from these freaks.

Marc Figueroa can be reached at marcfig@aol.com.

The Fights
Wear a Chargers jersey to Green Bay's Lambeau Field, and the tailgaters there are likely to offer you bratwurst and cheese curds.

In Kansas City, you might be treated to some succulent barbecue ribs.

In Oakland, well, in Oakland it's guaranteed some dufus wearing a dog collar and silver-and-black hardhat dumps a beer on you.

The same thing could happen today at Qualcomm Stadium. In fact, you might just as well count on it. It's a Raiders-Chargers weekend, and the beer and insults -- and more than a few fists -- will be flying.

These games feature enough testosterone to fuel a professional cycling team for months. It's four hours of overweight, overlubricated fans talking trash, bucking bellies and rolling in the aisles.

Does it get any better?

It's hard to look tough when there's popcorn and nacho cheese smeared in your hair, but these clowns don't care. They'll shell out $500 for a ticket, start their first fight by kickoff, then get locked in a holding tank before Daunte Culpepper can commit his first turnover.

Class isn't a word normally associated with Raiders fans, and this might be the only sentence in which they've ever appeared together.

Don't take my word for it. Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, you can check out what it's like to be a lone (suicidal) Chargers fan mingling with the unwashed silver and black masses at Oakland's Black Hole. Let's just say hospitality isn't their most obvious attribute.

It's a different scene in San Diego. There's always plenty of good seats available for opposing team's fans at Qualcomm. That means there will be strength in numbers for Raiders fans flexing their beer muscles.

Asking a $12-an-hour security force to defuse all those upper-deck melees is about as effective as using a garden hose on a forest fire. But that's what will be happening today. The ridiculousness will be captured on multiple cell phone cameras, and the shaky, grainy footage will have been downloaded on the Internet and available for viewing by the end of the fourth quarter.

I, for one, can't wait to see those highlights.

Think of it as "The Jerry Springer Show" on location, minus the sappy, manufactured storylines. Just people acting stupid.

No, it doesn't get any better than that.

Contact sports editor Loren Nelson at (760) 740-3551 or lnelson@nctimes.com.

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"THE" RAIDERS FAN wrote on Oct 15, 2007 12:16 AM:Thank you very much for your columns, I guess I don't have any class being that I'm a Raiders fan. I think the element here is different than in any other city. Denver and Kansas City fans despise the Raiders, of course, but there is a sense of respect between the fan bases. When you bring up Charger fans (most people in Denver and Kansas City have never seen one) you talk about probably the least respected fan base among other fan bases, a reflection of the team. That's why the Patriots, despite playing in countless playoff games against a slew of teams over the years, took an extra liking to beating the Chargers in the playoffs. They were a team that just came around as a contender, yet scoffed at any mention other than that they were the Super Bowl favorite. The bottom line for you as a sportswriter is that Raiders fans, regardless of win-loss record, will always be around, always buy your paper to read about their team and your team, always support it and stand accountable after losses. I understand that your column is a joke (are you surprised that I could read it, being a Raider fan?). But cracking the same Raider jokes (Can you read? Is that the warden calling? etc...) gets really old, and shows that you didn't really take the time to produce a piece of any substance. Eventually, you have to get some new material. It's all a myth anyway these days. The skyrocketing ticket prices, food and beverage costs and travel expenses combined with the increased security at stadiums show that most of the fans that go to NFL games leaguewide (everywhere including east coast) are wine and cheese crowd, big-money spenders that are club-level types all the way. Especially in Oakland, where most of the people that can afford a Raider game aren't from Oakland, but likely Marin or Sonoma or Napa county, communities where home rates are among the highest in the country. But I won't worry about you responding to this Mr. Nelson, because you probably dismissed me already for being a Raider fan, even though I took the time to read your column and comment on it. Can't wait to read the same exact column ideas next year. Hopefully, you'll do some research and come around and show some respect to the ones most likely to keep you at your job, unless you plan to be a hometown... wherever you go.-

Lightsting wrote on Oct 15, 2007 7:55 AM:Just take a break from your bandwagon Charger hype smack talking and consider this. We owned you for more than 20 years. You were always a sure win for us. Rivalry? Please. Yes you have enjoyed some success against us...LATELY. But what have you accomplished? NOTHING. We are rebuilding. Enjoy riding LT's success for as long as you can because what comes around goes around and you will get yours in the end... Oh and while your talking trash about our last Super Bowl appearance...Try to remember in your teams ONLY appearance you got hammered. We have 3 Super Bowl victories and a History of success that will come again. What do you have besides recent success over us? ZERO-

Mike wrote on Oct 15, 2007 10:13 AM:HAHAHAHHA... That gave me a good laugh this morning "raiders fan." I jsut forwarded this to one of my college friends who is a bronco's fan. A raiders fan speaking on behalf of Bronco's and Chief's fans? I hate to burst your bubble but the bronco's fans I know get 10x more enjoyment out of beating the raiders than the Chargers, and its not becasue of respect, its a lack of respect due to the franchises history of dirty, cheap shot football and unruley violent fans who fail to realize that its only a football game and take their frustrations out by beating up and stabbing opposing fans. The Raiders are by far the most hated team in the division by everyone. And yes it is times like these you need that "history of success" to make the fact that you just set the NFL record for consecutive division losses a little easier to take in. Keep living in the past because that record is going to be around for a long time, and so will this young talented Chargers team dominance over the Raiders.

Charles wrote on Oct 15, 2007 7:55 PM:What other sports team has its home stadium half filled with fans of the opposing team? I suppose I'm part of the problem. I'm a devout Oakland Raiders fan and have lived in San Diego for nearly 40 years. By the way, I have no criminal record, do not drink or smoke, have completed post graduate work in college, and have taught school in San Diego.

Gnarly Charlie wrote on Oct 16, 2007 6:36 AM:The Q might have a few Raider fans during the 1st half, but they're long gone by halftime. Of course, by the time I get out to the car my hub caps are gone. What's with Raider fans always living in the past anyways? They talk about Super Bowl victories that happened 20+ years ago. It's 2007 people. Speaking of respected fan bases. Take a look at New England. They had NO fan base until 2000. Their attendance was paltry.

thanks wrote on Oct 16, 2007 1:09 PM:thanks raider fans for the good laugh...living in the past is the only thing you have. just remember the past is the past and we are in the present...oh and you can't beat us!!! san diego chargers are the best and so are there fans!!!

DougMurrieta wrote on Oct 16, 2007 8:26 PM:My Son-in-Law, a devout Raider fan, and I, a devout Charger fan, go to game every year for the last 5 yrs. We have fun and have sat everywhere in the stadium without getting into one fight. This year the guy selling us his season tickets only asked me one question "Are you a Charger Fan?" He was not going to sell me the ticketS if I was a Raider fan. To often the stands are filled with more Raider fans then Charger fans and that is what is wrong with this game and many others in SD, to often the visiting team are more supported then our own Chargers. WHEN THE CHARGERS LEAVE IN 2010 WE CAN ONLY BLAME OURSELVES FOR NOT SUPPORTING SAN DIEGO'S AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA'S ONLY FOOTBALL TEAM!

Karl wrote on Oct 17, 2007 7:26 PM:"THE" RAIDERS FAN . As a diehard Charger fan I have been to all the stadiums you listed and I challenge you to admit the same. Let me rate them for you. KC has the best fan base I have ever seen. The stadium is totally awesome and they treat visitors like an invasion force but treat them as followers of the game. In Denver the fervor of the Broncos is a slight step down from KC but they love their team and they "tolerate" foreigners". In Oakland the fan base has nothing to do with football. It's all about brawling. Have you been to these stadiums? In San Diego we are blessed with the best climate on earth which draws fans from everywhere and we have to tolerate fans from each and every NFL City. There are a lot of us that are loyal fans since 1961. by the way how many Raider fans does take to change a light bulb? Anwser, 6, one to change the light bulb and 5 to sit around and talk about how good the old one was. Hopefully your "Committent to Excellence" manifests itself in a few more wins and fans who act like human beings.

CFM wrote on Oct 20, 2007 2:04 PM:A FEW YEARS AGO YOU COULD'NT GET ANYONE TO ADMIT THEY WERE CHARGER FANS, A COUPLE OF GOOD YEARS AND YOU THINKING MAYBE I SHOULD BUY ME A T-SHIRT OR MAY GO TO A GAME. THERE IS ALOT TO LEARN FROM RAIDER FANS LIKE, LOYALITY, HEART. THEIRS SOMETHING ABOUT GETTING A PLAYER THAT WAS'NT WANTED BY ANY OTHER TEAM AND LET HIM SHOW WHAT HE'S GOT. BY THE WAY I HAVE NEVER BEEN ARESTED NOR DO I QWN A GUN NO DRUG PROBLEM. DEEP INSIDE YOU WOULD RATHER WEAR THE SILVER AND BLACK. IT COULD BE WORSE YOU COULD BE WEARING THAT BROWN AND ORANGE THAT YOUR BELOVED BASEBALL TEAM USE TO WEAR.

Obi-wanKenobi wrote on Oct 21, 2007 11:42 AM:Raider Loyalty??? I haven't seen any Raider T-shirts or car flags in a couple of years. Then all of the suddend I see the timeless and stoic logo come out of nowhere when the Raiders (barely) win two games. Everything is back to normal though after they got pounded by the BOLTS! I don't see any T-shirts or flags anymore. But if I close my eyes, I can still see Daunte Culpepper running for his life!

Alex wrote on Oct 21, 2007 12:03 PM:Charles wrote "...have completed post graduate work in college..." on 10/15. Charles, what does that mean? You got your Phd. while you were in college? You must have done that online because the accredited schools don't do it that way. You have to finish college before you can get your masters, and you have to finish your masters before you can get your Phd. See, this is what you get when a Raider fan tells you how educated they are.

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