The Santa Clara Raiders (shudder)

By Os Davis  |   Wednesday, June 03, 2009  |  Comments( 7 )

Oakland Raiders
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As though the Oakland Raiders front office, staff and players don’t attract enough rumormongering during the regular season, this week has seen the reintroduction of the annual Raiders-leaving-town gossip. Mainstream sources were awash in both stories of the San Francisco 49ers’ new digs and speculation as to whether the cash-strapped (isn't everyone?) Raiders would be joining their apparently former Bay rivals in Santa Clara.

With headlines like “49ers headed for Santa Clara – What about the Raiders?” and “The Santa Clara Raiders?” and the laughingly qualified “Raiders Not Denying Possible Santa Clara Move,” speculation was rife with all the giddy excitement of circling vultures.

Yes, vultures. Because, seriously, it’s one thing to be a sad Seattlite or a depressed Clevelander (about the departed Browns in the '90s, not the vanquished Cavaliers the other day) when your beloved franchise leaves town, but certain media heads are toying with Oakland fans when they begin irresponsibly playing "CSI" when there is little indication the Oakland location isn't viable.

How much difference does 40 miles south make? A lot.

Repeat after me, Oakland citizens: “We’re not dead yet!”

So if you’re keeping score at home, the entire Santa Clara Raiders thing appears to be founded upon a handful of vague quotes from involved players. When it was already widely known that the 49ers were making a play for a Santa Clara relocation, San Francisco executive Jed York reiterated his club’s willingness to share a venue with the Raiders if necessary; Amy Trask was quoted as stating that “We are exploring and ... keeping an open mind” on the tandem stadium idea.

Luckily for the hometown, Trask also emphatically added that "we like the site on which we play – and think we should consider sharing a stadium there."

The NFL has made it known since at least January that its official position favors stadium sharing, and it’s obvious why. The league funded the mammoth New York venue to the tune of $300 million-plus and probably *saved* money over funding two separate stadiums for the Giants and Jets. Additionally, it is naturally in the best interests of Santa Clara to host two teams, which means more home games and money.

These cries of poverty are getting sneakily hammered home by such “news” stories and blogs. Despite the fact that the 49ers are (relatively) generously ponying up an extra $130 million toward building the new stadium, what is receiving attention is an attitude of inevitably that the Raiders now *must* move, either to Santa Clara or Los Angeles. Even the Oakland Tribune got on the “Odd Couple” bandwagon.

Seemingly beneath all these pieces is a kind of laughing contempt for the Raiders and their Oakland fans, perhaps best (or worst) encapsulated by Joe “One Flew Over The” Kukura and run on an NBC (!) Web site: "This could be a fresh opportunity for (Al) Davis to shake down a new landlord in yet another sweetheart relocation deal. If Davis could sucker the 49ers into one great lopsided deal benefitting (sic) primarily him, he could die a happy man. That is, if it were possible for Al Davis to die -- which it is not."

Yeesh, isn’t that a tad reproachful? And morbidly disrespectful?

All of this playing Nostradamus and/or Geraldo Rivera vis-à-vis the “Santa Clara Raiders” almost makes one wish for more coaching conspiracy rumors; at least that stuff only goes on during the regular season and actually involves playing the game. I’m almost beginning to miss Warren Sapp’s witticisms...
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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CommentsComments: 7  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
01:32 AM
06/04/2009
Is it the New Jersey Jets and New Jersey Giants? Is it going to be the Arlington Cowboys this year? Is it gong to be the Santa ...
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No.2
02:59 AM
06/04/2009
Just call them the Nor Cal Raiders. I have always held on to the fact that the Raiders represent Nor Cal. I will always ...
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No.3
El Tato		05:09 AM
06/04/2009
Not much to say, RaiderCraig said it all. In other news, school rules should change, Mike Mitchell not attending OTA's because ...
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