Cowboy Country meets Raider Nation
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Friday, September 30th, 2005 at 11:17 am in 2005 Regular Season.
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Posted by NFL Editor and ANG football writer Jerry McDonald
The quick declaration of a sellout for Sunday’s Cowboys-Raiders game came as at least a mild surprise, but considering what went on in Week 1 and Week 3 at California venues, maybe it shouldn’t have been.
Dallas had a vociferous presence in the stands at both Qualcomm Stadium and Monster Park, and their come-from-behind wins at both places were accompanied by the roar of the road crowd.
That sets up an interesting scenario Sunday at McAfee Coliseum. In a game the Raiders desperately need to win, they may be faced with the largest presence of fans cheering for the visiting team since they returned to Oakland in 1995.
You can knock the yearly blackout totals and the empty seats, but the Coliseum has never seen many fans rooting for the team in the light jerseys.
That could change Sunday, and you wonder how Raider Nation will handle it.
Since 1995, the Raiders have sold out 11 of 12 prime time games but only 16 of 72 (22 percent) in the afternoon.
The Cowboys never went home after the 49ers game, and have practiced all week at San Jose State. That’s been the plan since the schedule came out.
Raiders tickets are readily available. Those who wanted to travel, as well as Cowboys fans in the area, had plenty of chances to snap up extra tickets.
The pro-Dallas faction was so loud at the 49ers game last week Tim Rattay supposedly called a late time out because of crowd noise.
There were as many fans wearing Cowboys gear awaiting a glimpse of their heroes following their closed practice in San Jose Thursday as I’ve seen in the back parking lot of the Napa Marriott during training camp, pining for an autograph from their favorite Raider.
If Dallas is getting cheers in Oakland, it will be unusual for the Raiders, but not the Cowboys.
“It does make you feel good sometimes when go somewhere and you’ve got support,” coach Bill Parcells said. “I thought we had pretty good support (in San Francisco). I thought we had it in San Diego. Maybe there are a lot of Cowboys in California.”
Veteran defensive end Greg Ellis has gotten used to it.
“I think you’d be hardpressed to find more fan support than we have on the road,” Ellis said. “When we go places, sometimes you get a call go your way and you hear the crowd roar and think, ‘Are we at home or are we away?’ ”
Backup tight end Dan Campbell said games on the West Coast don’t have the same noise factor for visitors that they do on the East Coast, particularly against division rivals such as Washington and the New York Giants.
Kenyon Coleman, a starting defensive end for Dallas who played as a rookie with the Raiders before being traded, remembers similar support in some road games with Oakland.
“My first year with the Raiders it was kind of like the same thing,” Coleman said. “Both organizations have a lot of support on the road. Obviously there will be a lot of Raider fans in Oakland, but there will be a lot of Cowboy fans too.”
When asked if that could be a volatile mix, Coleman let out a long laugh.
“Oh, man, I hope it will be OK,” Coleman said. “I’m worrying about the football game.”
I’ve always thought the perception of the Coliseum as a thug haven during Raiders game is overrated, having been to enough other NFL sites to see that drinking and profanity isn’t limited to silver and black.
The fact is, there is this sort of behavior at every game, and its limited to a smaller percentage of people than you might think.
I’ve seen Raiders fans and 49ers fans hanging out together in the parking lot every preseason, sharing a laugh, a beverage and a good-natured insult.
I was on a flight to Philadelphia with some Raider fans who were part of ex-Raider John Vella’s travel group.
Their concerns were the same ones reflected on talk shows and the newspapers.
- Why aren’t they throwing to Moss?
- Where’s the pass rush?
- What’s up with Janikowski?
- Can we count on Collins?
- Are Washington and Routt going to be any good?
Of course, a columnist from another paper on a different flight was seated next to a guy named “Hardcore” who had a a business card of himself in silver and black facepaint, so you never know.
Having enemy fans in the house, en masse, if that is indeed what happens, is a new concept in Oakland. Here’s hoping for restraint regardless of the score.
Lighten up
For all the fans outraged at actor/comedian Jay Mohr’s guest column on the CNN-SI Web site in which he trashes the Raiders and their fans, chill out.
It’s comedy. Seizing upon a stereotype and making fun of it. It’s only insulting if you’re taking things way too seriously.
“Why do the Raiders commit so many penalties?,” Mohr writes. “I figure the players must look into the stands, see all the criminals and start leg-whipping and shoving just to fit in. It’s hard to play by the rules when every time you look up Darth Vader and a gorilla are staring back at you.”
The story contains much, much worse. Or better, depending on your sense of humor. Log on at your own risk.
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September 30th, 2005 at 2:07 pm
This is the link to Mohr’s article:
sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/
jay_mohr/09/28/mohr.sports/index.html
He can’t act , he ain’t funny either. Can someone get his email adress and post it in here. I’d love have it. He sucks. His acting sucks, his jokes sucks and his career is mega sucking right now… Im glad he lost money with Oregon. Taking shots at Miami?? Man this dude is probably a Rudy fan. He even looks like Rudy. He’s short like Rudy too.
September 30th, 2005 at 6:05 pm
I have a bad feeling about this weekend. I don’t think Raider fans will be too happy about having so many Cowboys fans in their stadium. Hopefully everyone can just have fun and enjoy the game.
Go Raiders
September 30th, 2005 at 7:04 pm
I really don’t mind all the Cowboy fans coming to our house and visiting. It’ll be great for the atmosphere of the game.
The Dallas have come to the west coast and have chalked up W’s against the Chargers and Niners. They’re looking for the sweep, but it won’t happen. This is the week where the Raiders running game gets going and the pass rush comes alive.
RAIDERS 31…COWBOYS 17
To all Cowboy fans: Remember this is our house…But you’re welcome anytime.
September 30th, 2005 at 8:20 pm
yessiree, howdy pardners……I reckon the ole Cowboys is in fo’a rude awakening. Bleedsoe is goin’ down and he’s goin’ down hard.
October 1st, 2005 at 8:55 am
The Raiders are oh so close to exploding back into the race, had it not been for the ref conspiracy in game 2 and the dumb penalties by us, not to mention janikowskis blunders and we be in this thing. I think the Cowboys (who are a classy org) are in for a whooping!
October 2nd, 2005 at 11:34 pm
the Jay Mohr piece was lousy from a writing standpoint. All he did was play on stereotypes, which shows a lack of his own ideas…
October 3rd, 2005 at 9:27 am
Yeah! It’s about time! Now onward to 13-3!
Notice that Jordan rushed for over 100 yards. Check the stats, anytime the Oakland lead rusher runs over 100 yards in the game, they win. If it’s under 100, they lose. Keep runnin Jordan!
October 3rd, 2005 at 4:14 pm
Even in victory we suffer and squirm. Anyone think we should trade for Winborn, the whiners speedy outside linebacker that they released last weekend? I think he would fit in well with Clark and Morrison. We would have 3 true 4-3 linebackers with tons of speed and pop. Anyone know anything if Raiders are intrested or not?
October 3rd, 2005 at 10:39 pm
I don’t believe that the 49ers would trade Winborn to Raiders even if the Raiders offered them the best deal / draft choice in return. The 49ers wouldn’t want him blowing up in a good way across the bay. I am not sure if the Raiders have the salary cap room either. Personally, I would love to see in silver and black though (believe that he would fill a huge void in Raiders defense! I can’t remember the last 49er - Raider trade although there have been a number of free agent signings but that’s a completely different animal.
While the Cowboys game / win wasn’t pretty it was great to see us finally win a close game. I have to admit that I was sitting there thinking here we go again when the Cowboys were driving in the last two minutes. I was hoping that if they scored, they at least score quickly and leave some time on the clock for the Raiders to respond. I have to give the defense props for not folding like previous weeks/seasons. Also Seabass finally came through - hopefully he has his groove back for the remainder of the year.
October 4th, 2005 at 7:18 am
I say we trade Jerry Porter for LaVar Arrington. Since Kerry “I won’t pass to Porter” Collins will only throw four or five passes to him a game, we might as well trade him for somebody who can be very useful to the team. Doug Gabriel can step in and catch 4 or 5 passes a game like Porter has been. So can Morrant. So can Curry, if and when he’s healthy. Gabriel is just as good as Porter and can fill in, but he doesn’t have the name to go towards a trade.
October 4th, 2005 at 6:35 pm
RAIDERS WIN!!! RAIDERS WIN!!!
LEADING LAMONT
Glad to see Lamont have a big day rushing. He NEEDS to put up those types numbers consistently for the Raiders to win. The Raiders may have found their leader on offense. I like the way he handles himself both on the field and off. I like Moss, but Lamont is our leader.
TOUCHDOWNS WOULD BE NICE
After scoring 10 in the opening quarter of Sundays game I thought the Raiders was on their way to scoring 30+ points. Well…They added just three field goals and finished with 19. On the bright side looks like Jano kicked his way out of his “slump”. The Raiders offense needs to start putting the ball into the end zone. All the yards are nice, but TDs are much nicer.
SIR CHARLES
I like the way Charles is playing this season. I guess he must be happy with the $$$$$. Seriously he seems different physically and is showing
more leadership qualities than in the past. He’ll be back in the Pro Bowl and I say sign him to a long term deal.
October 4th, 2005 at 9:07 pm
glad we won one…
http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=vEKFJ3_ENCU
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