Why or how did you become a Raiders fan?

[RedNeckRaider]

I will tell my story later but I am interested in how the rest of you became Raiders fans. For those born and raised in Oakland it is a no brainier, although it would bet cool to hear about your dad or uncle or whatever it is that got you started~

[Shagsta]

Well my story is not that interesting but basically since i moved back to the US (navy family) we moved to SD and i was learning what Football is. I was thinking of being a fan of the Browns like my dad was ( he changed to chargers and now steelers so he is not that hardcore a fan). I was at my baby sitters who were diehard Raider fans. I started watching and looking and learning. We were not the greatest then because it was the early 90's but i was hooked.

Like i said not very interesting but its what it is lol

[R8rFan]

My dad has always been a Raiders fan. But I started watching the Raiders and football, when the Raiders beat the Skins in the SB.

[BOUTY]

I've been watching the Raiders since the late 60's. Out here in Mass, the Pats used to always suck back in those days. I used to watch games with my dad and uncles. We used to see alot of Giants and Redskins games, and because they were so good, the Raiders games on NBC. We had just got our first colored tv in '67... can you younger guys believe it? Curt Gowdy used to call the games back then right around the merger and into the early seventies. Dad used to tell me the Raiders were a team of washed up players and misfits that a lot of other teams didn't want. They had hippie-type players with handlebar moustaches and road bikes with the Hell's Angels. I thought they were cool dressed all in black.

I used to like the Redskins back in those days too. They had a team similar to the Raiders with a lot of old veteran players that were wash-outs. They had a QB named Billy Kilmer who was a lot like Tim T E B O W, who could barely throw a spiral, but won a lot of games for them. They were always in the playoffs and they used to be called "the over the hill gang". Raiders just always stuck with me over the years. I've seen all the classic games and the classic players and coaches. Al Davis always loved the underdog and the guys who were a little "off" in some way, or an unconventional pick. I always loved that about him and about our team. Outside of personal family milestones, some of the greatest memories I have, have been while watching the Raiders win and lose and as was the case this past October, some of my saddest moments have been when a boyhood hero has passed on from our Raider Nation.

[pbrizzy]

I was born in '83 in the Philippines, moved to Southern California (Orange County) when I was 3. I remember growing up hearing about the Raiders... Silver and Black this, Raiders doing that. Watching them play on TV and just enjoying their style of play. There was no other team that played and did things like they did. They are my childhood team that I will always root for. Win, Lose or Tie... Raiders till I die.

[Deadman]

Mom went to high school with Lamonica so I was born into it,and I was born just south of Oakland..although the Raiders were always on tv?,I really started getting into it just before Blanda retired...I vividly remember right before the Super Bowl 11 in the paper they had what everybody on the Raiders offensive and Vikings defensive line weighed,and my father was laughing as he was reading it off to me because it was so lopsided..I really didn't understand that until after the game.."Purple People Eaters" my ass!

[RedNeckRaider]

I was born and raised in the Midwest and as a kid the KC Chiefs were the local favorite. I never have liked the color red and for some reason Hank Stram and Len Dawson just got on my nerves. I have no idea why as I was just a kid but I hated them. The only team I had ever followed was the Green Bay Packers, and that was because I had an uncle who was a huge Packer fan. He preached Packers to me all the time. Well they were rarely on TV in Kansas but the Chiefs were. I noticed that all my friends and their dads just flat out hated the Raiders, so I would root for the Raiders against the Chiefs just to piss them off. I started following them mildly and then became a fan. I liked the Silver and Black jerseys and loved the outlaw image. Kenny Stabler sealed the deal for me~

[freezetag168]

From my mother's side of the family, I'm actually a 3rd generation Oaklander. At this point the issue wasn't so much on how I became a Raider's fan, it's more of how I RETURNED to being a Raider's fan. My dad used to follow the Raiders until the move to LA, however he originated from LA, so the move didn't bother him as much as it did my grandfather and great-uncle. (Grandmother's brother) The father, grandfather, and uncle would vowed that once I hit double-digit age, they'll take me to A's and Raider games.

I went to A's games alright. By the time I hit double digits, the Raiders were in LA. 1st game I watched from kickoff to final gun (on TV) was that Monday Night Football game against the Donks where all the fans carried the "Save OUR Raiders" placards on TV, and it bored the hell outta me cause it was mainly special teams going back n forth. I drove my dad nuts during that game. "When are they going to make a touchdown? What's with all this kicking? He missed!"

I wasn't much of a Niners fan because I didn't really like Red as a color much. I do remember cutting school to attend one of the Niners parade and meeting up with Wendell Tyler. My friends were excited, and I'm like "yeah, OK, that's nice. Let's eat, we're in SF." Tyler's reaction when he asked where we're from (Oakland) was like "oh, that's nice, gotta go." (The only other Niner player I met was Dr Frank; my ex fiancee was his office asst) Feeling was mutual to say the least.

Football void was filled by following my high school varsity team, who during the entire time was chronically second place overall behind Skyline High, who were an athletic powerhouse back then sending Johnson to MLB, Foster and Payton to the NBA. When the Niners won the back to back SB in 89, they dissed the A's for not winning back to back World Series titles, so I held vigil out for the Raiders return, especially after that pre-season Houston Oilers game in Oakland.

I know I did a more in-depth personal history regarding the team on here somewhere. I didn't want to repeat myself and sound redundant.