Raiderstation

That, I think, is what sport is all about. If you follow a sport it becomes a thread which runs through your life and provides memories and narrative and meaning and context. Sport becomes a kind of companion, part of the richness and texture of lived experience. At the same time, you could argue that sport is the only thing on television that is real. The things you are watching happen are actually happening right now, as you watch. So much modern reality is mediated, packaged, predigested. This is obviously true for all forms of drama, but it is more subtly true of news and current affairs, where the effects can be more pernicious, because we’re seeing an image of the world which makes claim to be the real world. Sport isn’t like that. It is clearly artificial: it happens within a determined frame and a clear set of rules and in that sense is as mediated as human experience can be. But within that frame, when you’re watching live sport, you are watching reality as it really happens. It is perhaps the only completely, inarguably true thing you can see on TV. These events, which define the lives of the athletes taking part, are taking place while you watch.

You can have intense moments of feeling watching sport, just as you can have through reading or through drama or through art. The meanings it gives are both individual, because nobody else has seen exactly the things you’ve seen, and collective, because anyone with an interest in the sport has similar experiences, similar memories, and is connected to them, and to you, as a result. Esports give me none of that, which is the reason they can mean so much to people who play them, but nothing at all to me. And so although thinking about esports hasn’t made me get into esports – to be honest, if anything it has put me off – at least it’s made me realise where those thousands of hours have gone, and why. So thank you, esports. But also, respectfully, no thanks. I’m dancing with the one what brung me.

Oaktownonly wrote: Thu Nov 13, 2025 9:39 am Because of my fandom of the Raiders as a kid my favorite colors are silver and black. I would literally have to get rid of 90 to 95% of my wardrobe. Pretty silly reason I guess but it's the truth.

Raider_Len wrote: Thu Nov 13, 2025 11:20 am I might if I could; I can't. Can't really explain it. I'm 64, and not gonna bail now. Raiders have been part of my life since I was little, maybe even my first love, so to speak. She cheated, left me, I took her back, she left me again, and got ugly. She's still and always will be my first love in sports though, what can I say?

Willmark wrote: Thu Nov 13, 2025 4:32 pm The issue as I see it now? Just who are fans of the Raiders? The core of fans are older if for no other reason they remember when the Raiders were legendary.

Now its too much to try and explain "you see from 1965 to 1985 they were the most winnigest team in ALL of professional sports, so on and so on." Usually people's eyes just glaze over. The LA Raiders and the rap "cool?" Likewise a distant memory. To most people its inconceivable that anyone would be a fan of such a bad and poorly run organization.

And if were honest?

They are not wrong.

Willmark wrote: Thu Nov 13, 2025 4:32 pm The issue as I see it now? Just who are fans of the Raiders? The core of fans are older if for no other reason they remember when the Raiders were legendary.

Now its too much to try and explain "you see from 1965 to 1985 they were the most winnigest team in ALL of professional sports, so on and so on." Usually people's eyes just glaze over. The LA Raiders and the rap "cool?" Likewise a distant memory. To most people its inconceivable that anyone would be a fan of such a bad and poorly run organization.

And if were honest?

They are not wrong.

Smucky wrote: Thu Nov 13, 2025 8:26 pm Been a die-hard fan since 1983 but you can only break a guy’s heart so many times. Lost 90% of my emotional connection to this team and if things continued I should be at 100% soon. Thankfully the Raiders of late have helped me have a more productive Sunday.

ALLRAIDERWORLD21 wrote: Wed Nov 12, 2025 4:53 pm I remember going to my 1st raider game as a kid-- Kenny King ran what was then the longest run from scrimmage as a Raider, which I missed as I was the hot dog stand.. My bother was jumping up and down at his seat when I got back. I had to watch the highlight on MNF narrated by Howard Cosell but back then MNF football highlights were larger than life and no one compared to Howard Cosell's naration of football highlights, "They came out of the gate struuggling-- BUT THEN!"