ROAD TRIP, RAIDER NATION?
Bay Area Raiders fans spent last season watching their departed team play in an empty stadium in Las Vegas because of the pandemic. Now that fans can travel again, will they flock to the desert for the opportunity to cheer on the ‘Silver and Black’ in per
Raiders fans in the Bay Area couldn’t do anything but watch from afar after their beloved “Silver and Black” packed its bags and moved to Las Vegas a year ago. No one could fully experience the impact of the Raiders’ move from Oakland to Las Vegas last season because of COVID-19. When the pandemic hit, Raiders owner Mark Davis opted to keep fans out of Allegiant Stadium for the entire season rather than play before much smaller, socially distanced crowds. Davis said he didn’t want to choose some fans over others in the stadium’s first year of existence. The Raiders’ first season away from the Bay Area essentially became a broadcast-only event.
Now the “Death Star” — the nickname for the Raiders’ new stadium — is fully operational. With no travel restrictions either, the question is: Will the Bay Area contingent of “Raider Nation” pack their bags and join the team in Sin City? At least, on game days?
The Raiders won’t announce specifics other than to say the stadium is completely sold out this season. A team spokesman said that 12 percent of fans who had season tickets in Oakland in 2019 purchased Personal Seat Licenses (ranging from $500 to $70,000).
The loyalty of Raider Nation obviously has been tested again, but the roots run deep. This is a fan base that welcomed the team back with open arms after the late Al Davis moved them to Los Angeles from 1982-94. The Raiders still averaged around 63,000 fans in their final season in Oakland.
“Family is family, and that’s what this is like to me,” said Phyllis Wright, better known as “Blitz Chick” around Coliseum tailgates as well as on social media. “For some of us, I think it’s imprinted in our DNA. You may try and turn your back on it, but something reaches out and brings you back.”
Marcellus Thomas, who grew up in Oakland and hosted “The Pillaging Podcast” from the Coliseum parking lot, expects fans to rally to watch their team in person, especially after not having had that opportunity a year ago.
“Are you really so bitter you’re not going to watch the games?” Thomas said. “I know people who said last year they wouldn’t watch. But if you called them in the fourth quarter, they could tell you what just happened.”
Many displaced fans are either saving up for a game or two in Las