I want to start this post off by introducing Larry Farrauto to the NFLNR audience. Larry is a die hard fan of the NFL and the Oakland Raiders (we tolerate him… barely!) and will be contributing posts to the site from here on out.

This is the first of what we hope will be many posts for Larry here at NFLNR, and should give you a solid insight into his writing style (and allegiance! I hope you all enjoy!

- Chris Kolb, Owner/Lead Writer, NFL News & Rumors

RAIDER NATION REVOLTS AGAINST DAVIS

Never a dull moment in Raider World.

Pundits chuckled, Raider Haters giggled, and The Raider Nation is smoldering in the wake of the controversial draft pick the Raiders selected as their first round choice in the 2009 draft.

The Raiders shocked everybody by selecting speed demon receiver Darrius Heyward ‘I got you’ Bey out of the University of Maryland in the first round # 7 overall over other “higher rated” WRs Michael Crabtree, and Jeremy Maclin, DT B.J. Raji……or hell just about anyone at all if you listen to the media or peruse the various blogs of the Raider faithful these days. There has been a mad rush to judgment condemning Al Davis by media talking heads and members within the Raider Nation itself. The old man really seems to have lost his last marble. Is the Oakland Raider owner and NFL icon REALLY that crazy??

As a Raider faithful, I pondered Davis’ history and as Jim Carrey’s character Fire Marshall Bill would say , “Let me tell ya something!”

With Davis in control, the Raiders became one of the most successful teams in all of professional sports. In addition to serving as owner, Davis effectively serves as his own general manager. He has run the Raiders’ football operations since 1966–longer than any football operations chief in the league. From 1967 to 1985 the team won 13 division championships, one AFL championship (1967), three Super Bowls (XI, XV, & XVIII) and made 15 playoff appearances. Though the team’s fortunes haven’t been as great in recent years, having gone 24–72 from 2003 to 2008, the Raiders are one of two teams to play in the Super Bowl in 4 different decades, with the other being the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Along with appearing in 5 Super Bowls, the Raiders have also played in their Conference/League Championship Game in every decade since their inception. In 1992 Davis was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Team and League Administrator, and was presented by John Madden. Davis has been chosen by a record nine Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees to present them at the Canton, Ohio ceremony: Lance Alworth, Jim Otto, George Blanda, Willie Brown, Gene Upshaw, Fred Biletnikoff, Art Shell, Ted Hendricks, and Madden. He hired the first Latino head coach in NFL history, Tom Flores, in 1979. In 1989, he hired the second African American head coach in league history, Art Shell. He has also placed a woman, Amy Trask, as president of the club, in a far higher position than any other NFL owner or executive has placed a woman.

He has created a unique mystique around the NFL and is famous for such phrases as, “The Autumn Wind Is a Raider” and “Commitment to Excellence” and “Just Win, Baby”. There’s the “BLACK-HOLE”, the crazed fans throughout the world; the image of being the Hell’s Angels of the NFL, which certainly seems to fit this bunch with their silver and black uniforms; the Pirate logo and their penchant for constantly being #1 in the league in penalties. The organization is steeped with tradition and controversy and this is just another reason why the Raiders are the Raiders. Could it be any other way? This is Al’s creation, Al’s baby. Love it or leave it Nation.

The Raider fans bashing Davis for the picks he made in this draft deserve a personal foul penalty in my opinion. They should appreciate an owner who goes against the grain constantly and has the guts to take a chance and do whatever he thinks he has to to win a championship. ESPN and the football world are pounding the Raiders, but the draft is a crap shoot – everybody knows that. Give the old man the benefit of the doubt, he’s done this before. Raider fans should back off, and to their credit most fans with the help of some good counseling seem to have absorbed the shock like a Riddell helmet and are now supporting their owner and are praying feverishly for the best.

The Bottom Line and I am speaking directly to the Raider Nation here…. unless you have run the most imitated franchise in pro sports single-handedly for 30 years and win 3 championships in the process and accumulate the best winning % in pro sports….. don’t say a word, not a peep. Al Davis doesn’t just know football – he is football.

Take away the tuck rule and you have perhaps a fourth Super Bowl; Jon Gruden leaves a year later than he did and perhaps they have a fifth. It was only 2002 that they were last in the Super Bowl. Davis was old and the same man then and nobody said a word did you? There are always people trying to copy the Raider way and saying, “the Red Sox Nation” or the “Steeler Nation” etc, etc, but folks I’m here to say that there is only ONE NATION in sports – and it’s under the ever watchful eyes of Davis.

In AL We Trust.

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