Raider fans in Oakland finally got their wish – or part of it at least.
With news on Tuesday that the Las Vegas relocation plan is apparently on life support, there will soon be no reason the Raiders can’t sit down with Oakland politicians and potential investors and talk about building a stadium.
Bridges have been burned on both sides of the aisle, but what would it take to bring Raiders owner Mark Davis back to the table?
Yes, the politics are still there, but that’s going to happen anywhere (see: Vegas, Las).
So here are my thoughts.
Remember the days when Davis was the underdog owner everyone loved? He was Tommy Boy, right? The NFL owner who sat among the people. He was proud to be one of the people – a fan like everyone else.
But that time has passed.
Davis is no longer the people’s owner. The son of Al Davis is no longer beloved in Oakland – and don’t think for a second he hasn’t noticed.
For this reason (admittedly, among many others), it seems Davis can’t wait to skip town. He’d rather be in Las Vegas, or San Diego, or even San Antonio – anywhere the organization can have a fresh start. There is, after all, a PR nightmare going on in Oakland.
If I were a season ticket holder, I’d use the Vegas embarrassment as an opportunity to offer Davis a fresh start in Oakland. Remind him that the angriest fans are still the most loyal.
If Davis can find a way to work with local politicians (as difficult as that may be) and keep the Raiders in Oakland, he’d be a rock star in the Bay Area again.
Maybe let him know.
I’d stop with the Davis slander if only for a minute. Organize a group of pro-Davis, pro-Oakland supporters (it would need to be huge) and let the powers that be recognize what they have in Oakland.
There will be plenty of time to trash Tommy Boy if and when he crawls back into bed with San Diego or San Antonio. So try this…
Plan a rally.
Make it a celebration of the Raiders 12-4 season and remind the city of the support the Raiders still have in Oakland. Leave your torches and pitchforks at home. Bring only a message of appreciation to the team and the city.
Make it on a weekend with enough advance that those in attendance could be more than a few hundred people. Send one message to Davis and local politicians – a message of support.
Remind the city and the organization that there’s value in Oakland. Bury the hatchet if only for a moment. Offer Davis a chance to be one of the people again.
Make Mark Davis great again.
And if he’s still not interested?
Torches and pitchforks.
twitter: @raidersbeat
Whoever wrote this is a genius, that is all
This is a guy who turned around a laughing stock to a contender yet people hate him.
In fact even the Bay Area Media take jabs at this guy, for what? For selecting Derek Carr?
Every move this guy has made (on his own) has been successful. People give credit to McKenzie but most of McKenzie ideas have been awful meanwhile Davis ideas are all GOLD. To Derek Carr to Cooper to Crabtree those were ALL MARK DAVIS MOVES. Bringing in Jack Del Rio was Mark Davis move as well. By the way it’s not just Davis that states Oakland is difficult it’s the NFL that has said it as well! People just want someone to blame so they blame it all on Davis. Maybe it’s the Oakland City Council or The Mayor of Oakland? Why don’t they get any blame? The people who hate Mark Davis can no longer use “he just wants tax payer money argument” since those same people are all on board with Lott’s bogus term sheet which states 350 MILLION OF PUBLIC FUNDS! So it’s okay if Fortress group who has millions to ask for Public Funds but Davis can’t? Oakland is so *** backwards it’s ridiculous. Do they even know that teams like Patriots, Falcons, Cowboys,Vikings, Colts and countless others used Tax Payer money? It’s called business. Oakland can’t seem to figure that out or their dopey supporters. Personally if I got treated the way Davis has been treated by Oakland I would want out too.. But people instead listen to “super fans” that wear costumes and are against Davis for no other reason than they know if Raiders leave they won’t be able to be a local Raider fan celebrity. It’s beyond craziness. This guy did exactly what he said he would do, he would turn around this franchise. He has done that and he still gets crapped on by fans.
The reality is Mark Davis probably does not want to leave but he has no choice since Oakland has nothing to offer since they have that terrible baseball team there and the won’t move.
Season ticket holders from Fresno.
We’ll show up. Get some coaches, current and former players there too. Make sure MD and Libby are available. Maybe weeks pre or post draft.
Totally agree with this. In fact, I had thoughts of organizing something like this myself.
Sounds great to me. How about at Lake Merritt in Oakland? Or even Raiders HQ in Alameda?
I’m a season ticket holder and support your idea. Let’s Go Raiders