Angry Pope
All Raider
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2006
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Bullied about
By John Ryan
It isn't that Raiders fans have a persecution complex. It's that the persecution complex defines the Raiders fan. The men in the TV are always trying to warp the minds of the true believers.
This time, the believers might be right. Buzz put on the tinfoil helmet Sunday and was (electro)shocked. The Titans, Packers and Bucs are just as bad, and quite a few others are close, but nobody else's misfortune brought such unbridled glee.
• The most curious shot came from Fox's pregame show. After Howie Long finished a dispassionate analysis of what ailed his former team, Terry Bradshaw jumped in.
``The way the Raiders treated my man when he got his Hall of Fame ring in Oakland, the way they treated him, I'm glad they're struggling,'' Bradshaw said.
This is mysterious. News accounts from September 2000 mention only that when Long received his ring, he thanked fans and received polite applause. What's Terry talking about? Could the problem have been something like when Tim Brown returned in a Tampa Bay uniform in 2004 and, Brown said, his wife and children were locked out of a luxury suite until halftime? The truth is out there . . .
• ESPN's Ron Jaworski and Tom Jackson did a pregame segment called ``Patience or Panic.'' ``As a former Bronco,'' Jackson said, ``I say be patient, stay the course, keep doing what you're doing. It is fun to watch from right here where I stand.'' Off the set, but audible: laughter. Mommy, I hear voices!
• On 49ers radio, Joe Starkey noted upcoming opponents, including the Raiders on Oct. 8, and said he's starting a pool about when they might score a touchdown. Gary Plummer -- ex-Charger and ex-49er, and that explains it -- chuckled and said, ``I hate to see that. I always hate to see the Raiders not doing well.'' Mommy, the voices are laughing!
• NBC's ``Football Night In America'' sat at the ski lodge and went through the day's highlights. The first game -- the BIG STORY, above the Giants' comeback and Peyton Manning's 400-yard day -- was Raiders-Ravens. Really?
``If you're an Oakland Raiders fan,'' Bob Costas said, ``you will not refer to what you see as highlights.''
And Sterling Sharpe laughed like it was a Chris Rock show. Mommy, make it stop!
The schadenfreude cut across all lines -- old, young, black, white, player, announcer, bitter rival, Raiders legend. It's not born of jealousy, not in the past 23 years at least.
Is it possible the Raiders have been less than respectful in their dealings with that many people over that many years? Nah. Everybody just decided to gang up.
For no apparent reason.
By John Ryan
It isn't that Raiders fans have a persecution complex. It's that the persecution complex defines the Raiders fan. The men in the TV are always trying to warp the minds of the true believers.
This time, the believers might be right. Buzz put on the tinfoil helmet Sunday and was (electro)shocked. The Titans, Packers and Bucs are just as bad, and quite a few others are close, but nobody else's misfortune brought such unbridled glee.
• The most curious shot came from Fox's pregame show. After Howie Long finished a dispassionate analysis of what ailed his former team, Terry Bradshaw jumped in.
``The way the Raiders treated my man when he got his Hall of Fame ring in Oakland, the way they treated him, I'm glad they're struggling,'' Bradshaw said.
This is mysterious. News accounts from September 2000 mention only that when Long received his ring, he thanked fans and received polite applause. What's Terry talking about? Could the problem have been something like when Tim Brown returned in a Tampa Bay uniform in 2004 and, Brown said, his wife and children were locked out of a luxury suite until halftime? The truth is out there . . .
• ESPN's Ron Jaworski and Tom Jackson did a pregame segment called ``Patience or Panic.'' ``As a former Bronco,'' Jackson said, ``I say be patient, stay the course, keep doing what you're doing. It is fun to watch from right here where I stand.'' Off the set, but audible: laughter. Mommy, I hear voices!
• On 49ers radio, Joe Starkey noted upcoming opponents, including the Raiders on Oct. 8, and said he's starting a pool about when they might score a touchdown. Gary Plummer -- ex-Charger and ex-49er, and that explains it -- chuckled and said, ``I hate to see that. I always hate to see the Raiders not doing well.'' Mommy, the voices are laughing!
• NBC's ``Football Night In America'' sat at the ski lodge and went through the day's highlights. The first game -- the BIG STORY, above the Giants' comeback and Peyton Manning's 400-yard day -- was Raiders-Ravens. Really?
``If you're an Oakland Raiders fan,'' Bob Costas said, ``you will not refer to what you see as highlights.''
And Sterling Sharpe laughed like it was a Chris Rock show. Mommy, make it stop!
The schadenfreude cut across all lines -- old, young, black, white, player, announcer, bitter rival, Raiders legend. It's not born of jealousy, not in the past 23 years at least.
Is it possible the Raiders have been less than respectful in their dealings with that many people over that many years? Nah. Everybody just decided to gang up.
For no apparent reason.
