Finally...

I'm O. Allow me to introduce myself as a Raider fan:

In 1988, I moved to California from Boston as an 8 year old kid. Up until that point in time, being of Portuguese descent had helped me by resulting in me only being exposed to soccer. (I say this now, knowing that this prevented me from possibly being on the wrong side of the Tuck Bowl game in years to come, but I digress...) The very first Sunday after I moved, I can remember some cousins having me over to watch the then L.A. Raiders. I couldn't tell you the opponent, but like many in the Raider Nation, I fell in love with the Silver and Black mystique immediately, and never looked back. This was Tim Brown's rookie year, and he would become my favorite Raider to date. Since that time I've watched and attended most of the team's up and downs, growing into as fanatical a fan that a level-headed hard working American professional can be.

My first live game was when Oakland beat SF in overtime courtesy of a Rich Gannon to Timmy B. bomb. I was there for the beat-down Oakland handed Miami upon their return to the playoff's (highlighted by an epic Tori James 90yd TD return), and took my dad to his first game at the Coliseum a few weeks later. Not just any game, but the AFC Championsip, unfortunately a letdown after Tony Sirigusa pancaked Rich right out of the playoffs.

I used to call the bay area home, until live eventually moved me to San Diego, CA, but I've always remained the biggest Raider Fan I know -- my friends can attest to my passion. I attend every game in S.D. and make some SouthWest-aided trips up north to the Coliseum frequently. I'd describe myself as a homer who looks at the Raiders and football in general from a very educated perspective. I'm not afraid to point out Oakland weaknesses, or mismatches, just like I'm not afraid to call out their strengths in certain match-ups vs a "better" team. I also like to consider myself an NFL historian in general. Let's just say that if we're playing trivial pursuit sports edition, pick me. Consider me a (very) poor man's Greg Papa. I only say this based on the respect I have for the legend that is Papa, no one can actually touch his level. Seriously, fans of my generation have been blessed in our own right with him. Wait, where was I... Oh yes, so why am I telling you this? ... please read on :)

I've always wanted to get my opinion --that of an informed level-headed fan-- out there to share with the rest of the Nation, but work and other life activities have taken up my time. I've got kids and day job like most folks. I actually started to setup a blog last year, but quickly found myself unable to keep up with pushing it forward. I've been an avid reader of all main sites that cover NFL and Raider specific news: PFT, ESPN, CSNBay Area, NFL.com, and of course "Inside the Oakland Raiders". I think they all do a fairly decent job of covering Raider news, but something always feels missing or just wrong. Maybe it's when the negative Oakland stories are fully detailed, while positive stories are mentioned in passing. Maybe it's just that news/opinions aren't as detailed or published as often as I'd like.

Today, this comes to an end. I think you can be homer, and still know the sport of football very well, making informed neutral assessments to share with other Raider/NFL fans. That's what I'm going to do from now on (p.s. my next post will detail "Why today?")

If you've found this blog, you must want to hear what the fan has to say.

Let's get it started.

Hope you enjoy.

Just Win Baby!