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Intro: Joining Raider Nation in Vegas: Lifetime Memberships Now Available
Part 1: The Raider Nation – The Fans, The Black Hole, The Ownership, & Raiders Identity
Part 2: The Raiders History – The Players, Celebrities, & Cultural Impact of The Raiders
Part 3: The Raiders Today – The Team, Players, Front Office, Social Media, & Move to Vegas
Part 4: Becoming Part of Raider Nation: What You Need to Know

The Raider Nation: The Fans, The Tailgates, The Black Hole, Al Davis, & The Raiders Identity

What is the Raider Nation? It is the Only Nation. Raider Nation for Life. LoyAL. Worldwide. Passionate. Loyal. Inclusive. Outcasts. Raider Till You Die. 3-Time Champion. Once a Raider, Always a Raider.

The #RaiderNation culture is not something learned, it’s something experienced. When you experience it, that’s when you’ll know if you have it or not. It’ll come upon you like the Autumn Wind.

@hg_pinky

But most of all it is one large, sometimes dysfunctional, always passionate, amazing family. And that’s what makes the Raiders different than other fanbases. Raider Nation is a family, for better or worse, through thick and thin. They fight & squabble, they disagree & let you know, and there are a few that might be black sheep, but in the end, Raider Nation love the Raiders & each other.

The Raiders family is most obvious on gameday, when the family reunion meets for the most epic tailgate experience in sports. A family that eats together, stays together and the smell of grilled meats & smoked BBQ welcome the family home outside the stadium each gameday morning.

[New Raiders Fans] – To bad you couldn’t experience a Oakland Raiders tailgate….

@mas_tacos

The crowd is thick and spans across numerous lots and goes for as far as the eye can see. Their are rowdy, drunken, ruckus parties for sure, but on the whole it’s many once strangers coming together as a newly formed family to eat, drink, and celebrate the Raiders. Win, lose, rain, or shine, the Raiders tailgate lots are legendary.

VEGAS INSPIRED COLLECTIONS

You may have spotted some of most famous Raider fans like Gorilla Rilla, Violator, Deadpool Raider, El Cicuy roaming the tailgates and interacting with a whole host of Raider superfans. The energy, excitement, and feel can’t be described in my words, so I won’t try.

”Treat Them [The Raiders] with Respect & Gratitude” because you received them at the Expense of Others, Others Who Beloved Them So Very Much!!

@silverb65

Sadly, this may never be the same outside of Oakland. To be sure, there will be tailgates, and many of the characters will make the move to Vegas, but it can never be quite the same. First off, there are so many options in Vegas, from casinos to sportsbooks to restaurants and sports bars all within walking distance.

There will not be the BART stop where Raider Nation rolled into the stadium in the hours leading to the tailgate chanting RAAAAAIIIIDERS for the entire ride. There will not be over 10,000 parking spaces onsite like in Oakland allowing a consolidated, rather a much more spread out version in Vegas.

#RaiderNation is family. I’ve never hugged so many Strangers in my life. Doesn’t matter what city I’m in or what context – you repping @Raiders gear – I’m saying what’s up.

@RaiderVengance

And last of all, there will be a new wave of fans, visitors to Vegas, away teams fans in town for the weekend, new Vegas fans that will change the dynamic. Overall, the loss of the tailgate culture is the biggest risk in moving to Vegas and would be a devastating blow to the best culture in all of sports.

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As the masses move from the tailgate to the stadium, a phenomenon unlike any other in sports emerge… The Black Hole. Prison, Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe once reckoned, was a more suitable place to be than playing football in front of Oakland-Alameda County Stadium’s Sections 104, 105, 106 and 107, the seats behind the end zone referred to by Raiders fans as the Black Hole.

“It’s a lot safer,” Sharpe told the New York Times in 2001. “I’ve been hit in the head with nails, batteries, had beer thrown at me.”

If you are looking for a place where color, creed, ethnicity, size, shape, economic status or political leanings have no bearing on your full acceptance, you have a lifelong home with #RaiderNation Like life, there will be highs and lows, but you will be loved and supported 365.

@insuraider

The Black Hole may be a section in a stadium, but it is more of an embodiment of the Raider history, a cast of characters in Silver & Black, some wearing masks, spikes, skeletons, hard-hats, and lots of face paint. It is rowdy, raucous, loud, and intimidating, but somehow endearing.

On the road, you will see the same cast of characters taking over away stadiums from coast to coast. The Raiders fans travel well and they make their presence felt. Pockets, if not large swatches, of black will take over opposing stadiums, with spiked shoulder pads, Raider jerseys, masked, and face painted fans.

Raider Nation is impossible to miss and even harder to ignore.

It’s one of the reasons that there is also a chip on the shoulder of Raider Nation. The rest of the NFL does not like Raiders fans, from other teams to the commissioner, to the referees, or at least that’s perception.

At Eugene Upshaw’s memorial, Paul Tagliabue said the NFL has always looked at and treated the Raiders differently than the rest of the league.

@blitzchk

It started with Al Davis, who didn’t follow the traditional and believed in a bruising, boarding on out of control style of football. Or maybe because Davis was quick to litigate and forced the NFL’s hand numerous times.

With success, comes contempt, and the Raiders were the most dominate team during the rise of the NFL, winning 3 Super Bowls and having the highest winning percentage for nearly 3 decades.

No matter the reason Raider Nation feels the are disrespected. This rears it’s head often, most recently when Derek Carr slide down after a first down, but was ruled out of bounds in a blatant missed call that may have cost the Raiders a playoff spot in 2019. That only pales in comparison to The Tuck Rule game which would have sent the Raiders to the Super Bowl and instead launched Tom Brady and the Patriots into a dynasty.

I would explain to them that if your becoming a Raiders fan you must have nerves of steel..!Get ready for a lot of bias esp from the Ref’s & NFL itself..If you like castoffs & misfits then you belong here

@Christi57527474

Raider fans live by a number of mottoes and credos, but there are a few that sum up what it means to be a Raider fan, each from the late, great owner of the Raider, Al Davis. You will hear and see these on social media, when listening to press conferences, and when having casual conversations with fans.

Just like a coat of arms, they are part of the core fabric of the Raiders family.

I’ve always said that being a Raiders fan is a sickness. Our brains are wired differently than everyone else. We are committed every day no matter what. We celebrate our history and our mottos. Just Win Baby

@R8RNAZ50

Once a Raider, Always a Raider: As a player, if you’ve worn the Silver & Black you will always be part of the Raider family. The Raiders love their former players and coaches and welcome them home with open arms. Guys like Charles Woodson, Howie Long, Bo Jackson, Rich Gannon, John Madden, Ken “The Snake” Sabler, Tim Brown, and Marcus Allen are just a few of the fan favorites that are a huge part of the Raiders tradition.

For the fans, this credo shows up as Raider Nation for Life (RN4L). You are a fan through the good times, the bad times, and you wear the Silver & Black year no matter what. Raider fans are passionate about their history and former players are a huge part of the Raider family.

Raider Nation is shaped and informed by the rebellious and maverick Al Davis. His tenacity, focus and drive is the core soul thread of Raider Nation.

@aleksmunoz

Just Win Baby: “We want to win. The Raider fans deserve it. The Raider players deserve it, even my organization deserves it. You have to win and you have to win with a vision for the Super Bowl. That’s our passion here.” – Al Davis

Winning has not come as easily or as readily as it did during the illustrious history of the Raiders, but Raiders fans continue to be loyal AND continue to expect winning football. Loyalty and national support is easy when teams are winning Super Bowls, but that Raider Nation continues to grow and evolve during the lean times is a testament to what Al Davis and team built.

To be a part of the #RaiderNation is something to be earned a day at a time… To love the silver and black colors it is not only for fashion… Love the spirit, love the colors.

@pgysais

Commitment to Excellence: This has been the official motto for the Raiders organization since Al Davis took over. For many years, the motto and the results matched in harmony. From 1963 to 2002, the Raiders had a total of 7 losing seasons. They are the first NFL Franchise to have 16 consecutive winning seasons. For decades, they were the Winningest Team in the NFL and the stated goal is to bring the Raiders back to the highest level of success. The investment in facilities, coaching staff, and the move to Vegas is in line with this most sacred of mottos for the Raider franchise.

We’re not fair weather. We’re LoyAL. We support this team even if we’re down 52-0 (I was there in St. Louis). We do not discriminate – #RaiderNation does not care about creed, color, sex, sexual orientation or identity, race, religion, or your political affiliations.

@RaiderVengance

Raider fans have high expectation, both for the team and for other fans. While winning is the ultimate goal, loyalty and devotion are controllable elements to fandom and they are expected. They support the Raiders by wearing the Silver & Black year round, whether they are winning or losing.

This is not a bandwagon fanbase, which could be the greatest risk mixing new fans in Vegas with a devoted, fanatical historical Raider Nation. It’s important to understand that the belief is “real” Raiders fans don’t have a second team or an NFC team. They are Raiders fans for life. While there are many ways to be a fan, that’s not how many in Raider Nation see it.

One thing they need to know in realize, win, lose or tie your a Raider til you die. Oh and Once a Raider always a Raider.

@C_NoteDaGoat

Raider Nation is also a band of misfits, castaways, and outcasts that have banded together around the Raiders. The Raiders have embraced the outcast image, from the logo and colors to the players that have dawned the Silver and Black.

Throughout the Raiders history, they have tittered on the line between tough and dirty and passionate and cheating. In the words of NFL Films, “there are 31 teams in the NFL. And then there are the Oakland Raiders.”

I would explain to them that if your becoming a Raiders fan you must have nerves of steel..!Get ready for a lot of bias esp from the Ref’s & NFL itself..If you like castoffs & misfits then you belong here

@Christi57527474

At the same time, the Raiders have been innovators, pushing for inclusion and diversity when it was not popular, especially in the world of sports. Al Davis made Tom Flores the first Hispanic starting quarterback when he took over the Raiders head coaching position in 1963 and then the first minority coach in professional football to win a Super Bowl in 1980 and 1983.

In 1989, Al Davis hired former Raider OL great Art Shell as the first black coach in the modern era as well as becoming the first African-American coach to lead the team to the Conference Championship game. His hiring set the stage for more inclusive coaching staffs, even if it took more time than it should have.

The raiders are difference makers 1st woman CEO @AmyTrask, 1st Latino coach Flores, 1st Hispanic Superbowl MVP Plunkett.. Al Davis = LEGEND

@JimmyLaJeuness2

In 1997, Amy Trask was named the CEO of The Raiders, the first women holding that title for an NFL team, and held the position for 16 years.

The Raiders commitment to excellence ensured that Davis would find talent anywhere, even if it was not a popular or easy decision.

Al was a visionary – and I recognize and shall always appreciate that I was a beneficiary of his vision – and hi everyone.

@AmyTrask

Raider Nation is a melting pot. As Rolling Stone put it in their piece How Raiders Fans Became Most Disrespected in American Sports, “[Raider Nation] is a dedicated group who have traveled up and down the California coast to find their team wherever they’ve been. Raiders fans are also, by far, one of the most diverse in the league, with a large Black and Latino following other teams can’t claim…

The Raiders connected with the Hispanic community in ways that no other team save the Dodgers has before or since, so the team has helped to foster international fandom to the south.”

That melting pot also includes gender, with The Raiderettes a vital and large part of Raider Nation. While The Raiderettes is the official name of a talented cheerleading squad, it has transformed into an army of women who love the Raiders and support them with diehard passion. The Raiderettes are some of the most passionate, knowledgable, and active parts of Raider Nation and bust through any stereotype of a female fan.

The Princess of Darkness, former CEO Amy Traus, is the empedomy of the group, the number of amazing Raiderettes that dot the Raider Nation landscape are too large to count. They put on their Raiders colors, cheer loud, and know as much, if not more, than the boys and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

This Raiders image may be best described in the NFL Films “The Autumn Wind” penned by legendary NFL Films President and Co-Founder Steve Sabol.

The Autumn Wind is a pirate.
Blustering in from sea,
With a rollicking song, he sweeps along,
Swaggering boisterously.
His face is weather beaten.
He wears a hooded sash,
With a silver hat about his head,
And a bristling black mustache.


He growls as he storms the country,
A villain big and bold.
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake,
As he robs them of their gold.


The Autumn Wind is a Raider,
Pillaging just for fun.
He'll knock you 'round and upside down,
And laugh when he's conquered and won.

CONTINUE TO THE RAIDERS HISTORY: THE PLAYERS, CELEBRITIES, & CULTURAL IMPACT OF THE RAIDERS BY CLICKING NEXT BELOW

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