Raiders Fans Shower Players With Boos and Field With Trash After Final Oakland Game
Not the finale they were hoping for
Cary Edmondson/USA Today Sports
Raiders fans are defined by their passion. They show up week after week at the worst stadium in the NFL to watch a team that only has four winning seasons since returning from Los Angeles in 1995. And now the team is being taken away from them because the NFL was able to convince the government of Las Vegas to pony up $750 million to help build a stadium.
The team’s final game in Oakland was yesterday, and it ended in characteristically heartbreaking fashion—with a Hail Mary attempt that bounced off a receiver’s face and essentially knocked the Raiders (6–8) out of the playoff race.
After the game, the players wanted to show their gratitude to the fans but you could understand if the fans weren’t feeling all that grateful after that finish.
Other fans showered the field with trash.
Some people even hopped the fence and tried to run out onto the playing surface.
The Coliseum security staff had its hands full trying to deal with some of the more unruly fans.
But it wasn’t as chaotic in other parts of the stadium. Plenty of fans hung around to show their respect for the players.
Even though Carr was booed, he doesn’t hold it against the fans.
“Oh gosh, what’s new with our crowd?” Carr said after the game. “Trust me, it’s not under my skin, it’s nothing new.”
The scene was ugly but it’s tough to fault Raiders fans for reacting so strongly. Their team is being taken away from them as a result of corporate greed and because the powerful decision makers actually responsible for ripping the team away from the fans hide in luxury boxes, the players and stadium security are the ones who bear the brunt of the frustration. One thing’s for sure: it will be a long time before the Raiders have fans in Vegas as passionate as the ones in Oakland.
What a sendoff for Eli
If that really was Eli Manning’s final home game with the Giants, he went out with a classic Eli game—283 yards, two touchdowns and three head-scratching interceptions.
With the game already decided, Manning took the field for one last snap in the final minutes so that he could come off the field to a standing ovation from the home faithful.
In the locker room later, he received the game ball from coach Pat Shurmur and a rousing reception from is teammates.
Here’s what the Patriots did
Fox Sports scoopmaster Jay Glazer has obtained footage of Bengals security confronting the Patriots videographer who was caught filming the Cincinnati sideline and it’s awfully interesting.
I’m not smart enough with football stuff to realize if anything filmed there is useful information for the Patriots. But the way the Pats employee tries to wiggle himself out of the situation and the incredulous reaction of the Bengals staffer makes it seem like there’s something amiss for sure.
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