Why I can't quit the Raiders

[haji81872]

This is the end of a great article written during the Covid era while a man was trying to replace sports with e-sports. I think his explanation of watching sport is on point and explains a lot. The collective memories through my life and experiences shared with all of you make it impossible to stop watching.

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.

[Viper]

As a fan of football, I watch all the time slots Saturday and Sunday, generally selecting what is the best game for me from a fantasy player standpoint or what should be a competitive game. If the Bears or The Raiders fall into one of those categories then I'll watch their game.

I look for games to watch with teams that have records similar to ours and root for them to win so we can get a better draft pick. Can’t believe I’ve fallen this far, but I assure you it didn’t happen overnight.
Sad but true.

[ALLRAIDERWORLD21]

I just hope that the Raiders do not sink to a sub .500 all time won/loss record, or that I am around to see it.

As of today we are at 511-487-11.

The only team in the AFC West that owns a winning record against us are the Chiefs.

Image 17.jpegCompliments of Mr Schottenheimer.

Great Coach and RIP but I hated him..especially after he pulled that BS with Deion at SB XVII. Absolutely no rhyme or reason for it other that to stick it to AL.

[raider_kin]

Great Coach and RIP but I hated him..especially after he pulled that BS with Deion at SB XVII. Absolutely no rhyme or reason for it other that to stick it to AL.

What did he do?

[Cruisin with Tooz]

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?

Say this. "I cant quit you babe. So Im going to put you down for a while. You messed up my happy home. And made me mistreat my only child."

[Willmark]

I was wearing Raiders colors in grade 5. It's just part of who I am in my mid-50's. At this stage though I have accepted that 1984 will be the last Raiders Super Bowl I see in my lifetime. Any chance of that changing hinges on Mark Davis being out of the picture and that stubborn mother fcker will likely hold on into his 80's.

Only half joking.

I’m a bit younger and I’m at the point where I seriously doubt we’ll see a winning record again in our lifetimes.

[GoodTimeCharlie]

No need to quit the Raiders.
They’ve done all the quitting for you.

[ALLRAIDERWORLD21]

What did he do?

Deion Sanders asked Washington to release him so he could play for the Raiders in the Superbowl, I guess as a backup to Woodson who was coming off knee surgery and had a metal rod in his knee to play in the Superbowl. Redskins released Sanders and all he had to do is clear waivers and Shottenheimer claimed him..purely out of spite.

Deion said he never forgave Shottenheimer for that.

[ALLRAIDERWORLD21]

I look for games to watch with teams that have records similar to ours and root for them to win so we can get a better draft pick. Can’t believe I’ve fallen this far, but I assure you it didn’t happen overnight.
Sad but true.

What I’m tired of is hearing how we’re the worst franchise yet when I look at the draft order there are four other teams with the same record who are drafting higher than us. And now we play the Browns and we could actually win but it’s like..if we’re going to be the worst team then be the worst team and get the highest pick we can, I want to win but I’m sick of losing and then drafting in a spot that doesn’t help us. It’s a wicked cycle. Get the highest draft pick then pick the QB and build and attract a QB whispering coach or leverage the pick for boatload of draft capital.

I actually think Chip is secretly tanking with his play calling and that Pete is tanking by playing Putnam and Meredith. I think the whole team is in on it too at this point.

[GoodTimeCharlie]

What I’m tired of is hearing how we’re the worst franchise yet when I look at the draft order there are four other teams with the same record who are drafting higher than us. And now we play the Browns and we could actually win but it’s like..if we’re going to be the worst team then be the worst team and get the highest pick we can, I want to win but I’m sick of losing and then drafting in a spot that doesn’t help us. It’s a wicked cycle. Get the highest draft pick then pick the QB and build and attract a QB whispering coach or leverage the pick for boatload of draft capital.

I actually think Chip is secretly tanking with his play calling and that Pete is tanking by playing Putnam and Meredith. I think the whole team is in on it too at this point.

Wouldn’t surprise me. Only the Raiders would finally decide to tank in a year their SOS makes it nearly impossible to get a Top 5 pick.

[Viper]

What I’m tired of is hearing how we’re the worst franchise yet when I look at the draft order there are four other teams with the same record who are drafting higher than us. And now we play the Browns and we could actually win but it’s like..if we’re going to be the worst team then be the worst team and get the highest pick we can, I want to win but I’m sick of losing and then drafting in a spot that doesn’t help us. It’s a wicked cycle. Get the highest draft pick then pick the QB and build and attract a QB whispering coach or leverage the pick for boatload of draft capital.

I actually think Chip is secretly tanking with his play calling and that Pete is tanking by playing Putnam and Meredith. I think the whole team is in on it too at this point.

I get a warm fuzzy feeling just looking at your avatar pic.

In another wasted year, I’ll take this small pleasure as a win - no matter how small it is.

[Reno Hightower]

I was wearing Raiders colors in grade 5. It's just part of who I am in my mid-50's. At this stage though I have accepted that 1984 will be the last Raiders Super Bowl I see in my lifetime. Any chance of that changing hinges on Mark Davis being out of the picture and that stubborn mother fcker will likely hold on into his 80's.

I am of your generation. If this is in fact true I do take some solace that we witnessed the Raiders put together a perfect game that day. Many fans do not get to experience that.

[DeathStar24]

In too deep to quit but I'm fully commited to college football moving forward. Just a cursed franchise.

[pfish57]

I honestly could give 2 shits less about the Raiders anymore...nothing they do gives any hope for the future!

[raiders_suck]

I can't quit them either,but i'm gonna have to put them down for a while.

[Rabidraider]

My youngest son born in 96 is a Raider fan because of me. He of course never saw the great Raiders of the 70's and early 80's and was too young to see them lose to Tampa. All he's seen is the terrible team that I keep telling him every off season is that we should be improving. I'm not saying a word anymore....