THE VIEW FROM THE OTHER SIDE
Former Raiders broadcaster Papa revisits former team today
SANTA CLARA >> Greg Papa was the longtime voice of the Raiders and now he’s the voice of the 49ers.
Once upon a time Papa was the voice of the Indiana Pacers, the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs. He broadcast A’s games for NBC Sports Bay Area and then the Giants. It’s all part of the business, but Papa conceded doing a Raiders game carries some extra juice given his 21-year connection with the Raiders, his love for Al Davis and his feelings about the fan base.
“For a number of years, the Raiders could not sell out the Coliseum, and there were local blackouts,” Papa said. “There wasn’t any television. For a lot of Raider fans, the only way they could follow the team on a lot of Sundays was through me and Tom Flores. So I think that made it a little more impactful.”
Let go after the 2017 season in favor of longtime television announcer Brent Musburger, Papa, 59, remains a Bay Area fixture as the 49ers announcer, an NBC Sports Bay Area Giants pregame and postgame host, as well as his daily radio show with John Lund on KNBR.
I caught up with Papa recently to get his thoughts on doing his first Raiders game today as the voice of the opposition, get his thoughts on the differences in the organizations, reflect on his relationships with Al Davis and Mark Davis and a few other topics.
Some of Papa’s thoughts, edited for length and clarity:
The feeling of broadcasting a 49ers game against the Raiders . . .
It’s going to be odd. When I had to promo the game at the end of the 49ers game against the Chargers, I said ‘Las Vegas Raiders,’ and that just sounds weird. I laid out their depth chart. How many guys are even on the team when I was there? Derek (Carr), Nicholas Morrow, Karl Joseph. Not many. I know Jon (Gruden), I know
Tom Cable. I don’t know a lot of the other coaches. It will be good to just get it out of the way Sunday and move on. It will be interesting to see how many Raiders fans show up at Levi’s. When they played on Nov. 1, 2018, we did a pregame show on the perimeter of the stadium. Raiders fans were coming up, taking pictures. It was a real celebration.
The pushback from Raiders fans about being a 49ers announcer . . .
I’ve heard stuff on social media and in passing. I don’t dwell on it. When I was announced as the voice of the 49ers there was some back and forth. Forty-Niner fans that said, You’re a Raider, we don’t want you, and the other way. That’s natural. When I was doing pre- and post-game, and it was discussed that I would come over, even members of my family were reluctant, like, ‘You can’t do that!’ But that’s what I do for a living. I’ve had three jobs in the marketplace, and I’ve never had to move. But honestly, I’ve never had anybody say anything to my face. In 2018 my bosses at NBC wanted to get me security. I’m like, ‘I know the Raider fans, they’re not like that. I’ve hung out with those people all my life.’ The 49ers fans have been amazing to me. I think they identify with me through my work with other teams.
The similarities between the two organizations . . .
In theory, the 49ers are Randy Cross’s white-wine sippers and the Raiders are Annihilator and the Terminator and the Skulllman. But that’s not really true. The Niner fans are a lot like the Raider fans, and the Raider fans are a lot like the Niner fans. We think there’s more of a socio-economic
divide. That may be true to some degree, but really it’s not. And we’re all just people. I’ve sat down and had beers with both sides. They love football, and they love their team. But when they go after it, they go after it. I know how much Jon and Kyle (Shanahan) get along. Jon hired Kyle. There are obvious differences in the perception of the fan bases, but you and I have been around them from the inside and we see a lot of the commonalities that the organizations have and the fan bases have.
Being a confidant of Al Davis andissueswithMarkDavis...
Part of me thinks (Al) wanted someone to defend him after he was gone so his side of the story would be told. When (Mark) had Marcus Allen light his torch, I just really thought that to be distasteful. The torch symbolized Al and he did not like Marcus Allen. When (the Raiders) interviewed Mike Shanahan to be the head coach, although I have great respect for Mike Shanahan, he, along with Marcus and Pete Rozelle, were probably at the top of the list of Al’s enemies. I think my line was, ‘Mike Shanahan can coach 31 teams in the NFL and be highly successful. But he cannot coach Al Davis’ Raiders.’ That was such a disrespectful act. I still feel that way. I don’t have any animosity toward Mark. I wish him well. He wanted me to say I was sorry for that and I’m not sorry. I wasn’t then, and I’m not now. Obviously, after the Mike Shanahan interview, things changed. I continued with the team, two or three more seasons. Al was very generous to people, but he could give you that death stare. And Mark gave me that Al Davis look. That’s one quality he got from his dad. I knew that I had probably irreparably changed our relationship with what I did, but I felt almost a responsibility of mine that was bestowed upon me by his father.
His last interaction with Mark Davis after being fired . . .
He called me. (Former team president) Marc Badain came out to see me the day they let me go. A few days later Mark called and we spoke, and it was quick, and he wished me well, and said, ‘You are forever a Raider’ or something of that nature and I wished him well. It was brief. Al could hold grudges. He held them to the grave. I don’t have that in me. Especially after the pandemic and everything that’s gone on in our country in the last year and a half, I don’t want to hate anybody. I don’t hate anybody. There’s no time for that.
Missing former broadcast partner Tom Flores’ Hall of Fameinduction...
He invited me to go. I was fully planning on going. It was a big day for the 49ers, Dwight Clark day, and I was there for practice that morning. I had the Giants that night, but it was a 4 o’clock game, and I had a flight scheduled to leave SFO at 10. The Giants game went extra innings. Wound up missing my flight. I felt terrible about it. I was really disappointed in myself for not taking the entire day off, making sure nothing would get in the way of that. He’s probably disappointed in me for not being there. That’s something I’ll have to regret the rest of my life because I really wish I was there.
Why he works so much . . .
I have five children. Four of five have graduated. They’re all gainfully employed. But I have financial responsibilities a little bit here with all of them. For a while I had five jobs — one for every child. There will be a day when I slow down. I kind of have the Marv Albert syndrome where I felt I had to have a game every day. One sport wasn’t enough. But the pandemic did show me there’s a lot of life to live and there are things to enjoy. There will be a day when I slow down. I’m not quite able to make it today, but it will be coming. At some point.