Allen: Raider Nation

A trip into Raiders country can be deceptive. When you picture a Raiders game, the "Black hole" immediately comes to mind. Rabid fans dressed in Darth Vader masks or spiked helmets and carrying mace balls on chains are the images sent out on television. However, when you actually visit the area during the football season, a different picture emerges.

As you exit the Oakland Airport and head out, you immediately know you're not in New England anymore. The lack of tall trees (with the exception of an occasional Palm) is your first clue. As you head out on one of the prototypical California highways - bumper to bumper at seemingly all times of day, you might feel a bit more at home, but the six lanes can throw you as you realize you need to cross those half dozen lanes in order to get to your exit - a stopoff at In-N-Out burger for a double-double with fries well done is a must after the long flight. Knowing which highway goes where is a challenge as well, do you take 280, 580, 680 or 880?

If you're on the 880 highway, you'll pass right by the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (or, if you prefer, McAfee Coliseum). Built in 1966, this makes it one of the older venues in the National Football League. It is also one of the few remaining stadiums that houses both an NFL and MLB team. The football field is laid between first and third base (instead of from home plate to centerfield), which explains that vast foul ground territory when the park is set up for baseball. The Black Hole crazies occupy one of the end zones, and Randy Moss is sure to find himself on the end of many taunts from that group this weekend.

Once you're on your way to whichever suburb you're going things might calm down a bit, in between gawking at all the hills, (which have increasingly become filled with houses in recent years) you notice plenty of Raiders stickers, flags and decals on the vehicles, even though the team has been a doormat for the last few years. Raiders gear also adorns the drivers as they head to their destinations. At my wife's grandmother's house, an autographed framed picture of Jim Plunkett stares down at me in the guest room we're staying in, alongside a Raiders Super Bowl pennant. Grandma Pat regales us with stories of the time she met Cliff Branch in the supermarket.

Wearing Patriots gear out in public is a surefire way to garner plenty of dirty looks. You'll probably hear the phrase "tuck rule" mixed in with various obscenities during the course of your day as well. All in all though, the roughness of the Raiders fans is a bit overrated. The environment is quite different out there, especially at this time of year, but you've got plenty of "normal" fans out there as well who just want to see their team return to the glory days. These fans recall the teams of the late '70's and early '80's as fondly as we remember the Patriots teams of this decade. They yearn for a return to greatness, where "Just Win, Baby" is a way of life rather than a tired cliche.