THE RAIDERS FILE
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Home field: Allegiant Stadium
Coach: Josh McDaniels
Offensive star: TE Darren Waller
Defensive star: DE Maxx Crosby
2021 Season: Lost 26-19 to Bengals in a Wildcard Playoff game.
Super Bowls: won 1977, 1981, 1984
Greatest Player: C Jim Otto
Factoid: Former owner Al Davis named the team’s fan base, “Raider Nation”. Ice Cube recorded a song for the team with that title.
By Lenn Robbins
Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Great slogan. Certainly enough sins have been committed in Sin City for many a man and woman to hope that whatever happened is forgotten like a bad buffet.
How the Raiders wish this was the truth.
Truth is, since the NFL, in one of its more hypocritical decisions, allowed the Raiders to move from Oakland to America’s Gambling Capital in 20202, almost everything that can go wrong, has gone wrong.
WR Henry Ruggs was involved in a car crash that killed a woman and her dog. Another former first-round pick, CB Damon Arnette, was released after video of him threatening a woman with a gun went viral. Six of the team’s top eight executives have quit or been fired. Coach Jon Gruden resigned after emails came to light that contained homophobic and misogynistic comments.
And that’s in less than two years!
But hey, the Raiders made the playoffs last season, so all is right with the world, right? Wrong. The Raiders released last year’s No.1 pick, OL Alex Leatherwood. And that 2021 playoff team? They were outscored 439-374.
Are the Raiders a good team? They certainly are a dysfunctional one.