In 1960, The Oakland Raiders became part of the American Football League. When the AFL merged with the NFL in 1970, the Raiders became an official team of the NFL. Their past has been turbulent and unusual but can never be called boring.
Throughout the history of the NFL many teams have moved from one city to another and the Oakland Raiders are no exception. Originally playing in Oakland California, the Raiders were moved to Los Angeles in 1982 because of unsuccessful attempts to have improvements made to the stadium.
Al Davis, one of the owners, decided to move the team to L.A. League owners denied his proposal but he was not discouraged. He filed an anti trust lawsuit and won, gaining the right to move the team. All of this was in response to promises made by the Los Angeles Coliseum that the stadium improvements would be made in L.A. When the improvements never happened, specifically the addition of luxury boxes, Davis began searching for somewhere else to move the team. After much drama, debate, and many broken promises, Davis finally moved the team back to Oakland in 1995.
Originally built more for baseball than for football, the Oakland Coliseum had seating for only 45,000 people. Built deep in the ground, the playing field is located 21 feet below sea level. Renovations in 1996 cost 200 million dollars and brought seating to more than 63,000 with 143 luxury suites and 9,000 club seats. There are rumors, discussions, and hopes of a new stadium in Oakland but so far, nothing has been decided upon.
Oakland’s cheerleaders, the Raiderettes, are a group of beautiful, enthusiastic ladies that do so much more than just dance along the sidelines. They are professionals and students, who work hard to improve their communities through community service projects and charities. These women help underprivileged children, visit soldiers in Iraq, and donate their time, efforts, and portions of the proceeds from their calendar each year to charities throughout the area.
The Oakland Raiders cheerleaders are not the only ones involved in the community. The players are also active members of their community. They visit war veterans, participate in events to raise funds and awareness of diseases such as childhood cancer, and they sponsor many other activities.
The Oakland Raiders are not only active in the community but also exert a lot of energy on the football field pleasing fans each season. They have had some bad years but this team seems to always come back with a winning season. They have three Super Bowl wins to their credit, including one that was while they were the L.A. Raiders.
As football teams go, the Raiders are always a good team to watch. They have some very devoted fans and the games are always interesting to see.
Past Seasons
After some major changes in the offseason, the Raiders are hoping to improve last year's lackluster defense. Offensive head coach Lane Kiffin was brought in to sort out the situation, and it remains to be seen if there's improvement on that very important side of the ball. Randy Moss (and his attitude) has gone, and attitude and enthusiasm is yet another task for Oakland to work on. Hopefully Kiffin's youth will bring the spark the Raiders so badly need. Oakland tickets promise to be exciting this season - if only for the chance to see first hand if the chemistry and improvement is there.
2005-2006 Oakland Raiders tickets brought another “wait till next year” sesason for Raiders fans. While the Raiders hoped that trading for wide receiver Randy Moss could provide a boost for a struggling offense, the former Minnesota Vikings’ standout 1,000-yard season proved to be of little help for the troubled team in Oakland. Kerry Collins assumed the role of starting quarterback after Rich Gannon’s retirement, but he failed to spur the team’s return to the postseason. The year ended with another losing record and the firing of head coach Norv Turner.
After coaching the Raiders for three years in the 1960s, Al Davis has since served as the team’s owner. Oakland has been the franchise’s home for most of its history, but the team moved to Los Angeles for most of the 1980s and part of the next decade. The franchise brought the city of Oakland two Super Bowl victories in 1976 and 1980, and the team also won the title in 1983 while they played in Los Angeles. The Raiders’ most notable coach is John Madden who led the team to five AFC Championships in the 1970s. However, the head coach only managed one Super Bowl victory during his reign.
After Madden’s last season in 1979, head coach Jim Flores led the team to another Super Bowl, and the team’s offense continued to flourish in the 1980s with much of its success due to running back Marcus Allen. Allen’s performance as Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1982 set the stage for his leadership in Super Bowl XVII where he earned the game’s MVP honor. Allen’s two touchdowns and near 200-yard rushing total helped the team defeat the Washington Redskins and bring a title to Los Angeles. However, the Hall of Fame running back later left the team, and the Raiders have not won a Super Bowl since his departure.
After the team returned to Oakland in 1995, the status of Raiders football tickets slowly declined with the team’s five-year absence from the playoffs. The first three years of the millennium provided a short time of success for the franchise, and the Raiders made a trip to Super Bowl XXXVII. However, the team lost to former Raiders’ coach Jon Gruden and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The franchise is now in search of their fourth different head coach in five years.
While the Raiders have little success to build on for next season, fans at McAfee Stadium hope that the new head coach can bring a resurgence of professional football to the Bay Area. With Moss’ offensive production and some help from selections in this year’s NFL draft, the Raiders will use their time away from the playoffs to return to the football brilliance of old. The team will work to remove itself from the bottom of the AFC West division, and restore the luster to Oakland Raiders tickets.
