Now, an excerpt for the guys:
“The teams cleared the field. After an hour or so, the electricity of the 62,000 fans in attendance began to be felt throughout the stadium. The Oakland Raiders took the field to the AC/DC theme of “Hells Bells.” The ravenous crowd exploded in a frenzy. Clad in silver hoods and black jerseys, the Raiders looked like vicious colossal monsters ravenous for sustenance. The Chiefs, on the other hand, simply looked like victims this day, with their red helmets, white jerseys and red football pants. They were prey, covered in blood, awaiting a vicious attack from heartless marauders.
I had tears in my eyes as the Silver and Black stormed the field. When I was a kid, Oakland, California might as well have been Oz. Poor people from the Ozarks don’t get to go to California, only rich movie stars and great athletes. And yet, here I was, in the Oakland Coliseum, about to watch the Raiders play in their hometown.
I understand that not everyone is an Oakland Raider fan. In fact, the Raiders are a team people either love or hate, and the emotions overflow on whatever side one comes down upon. All the same, every guy out there knows what it’s like to see his favorite team come out prepared for battle, swaggering along with confidence and conviction that the game has already been won. Only the contest remains to be played.
The Raiders took a 28-10 lead into halftime. The third quarter ended with Oakland on top 35-14. However, the Chiefs managed a brief comeback in the fourth quarter, closing the score to 35-24. Although I knew that this game belonged to the Raiders, I was still a little gun shy about celebrating too quickly. On scores occasions, I had seen a win dissolve against the Chiefs in the remaining minutes of the fourth quarter. 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1999. So many games that hinged on just one play here or there, and somehow the Chiefs managed to prevail in games in which they lost every other statistical aspect. Was I now going to see one first hand, face to face? I calibrated the distance from the top of the stadium to the concrete, just in case I would have to make the jump. I wanted to make certain that death would be swift and sure.
Oakland scored again on a two yard pass from Gannon to Ricky Dudley to make it 42-24. At that point, Greg Papa announced, “This one is over!” I wasn’t so convinced. Kansas City marched right back down the field and Grbac scored on a three yard bootleg. Grbac extended the ball just across the goal line, and had some friendly words with the Raider’s free safety, who was too slow in stopping the Chief’s quarterback. I tapped my hand nervously on the railing near me, and refused to sit down. “It’s not over yet,” I muttered to myself.
The Raiders took the kickoff back to the Kansas City forty-three yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Gannon handed the ball to little-used running back Randy Jordan and he sprinted the distance to the end zone for a touchdown. The joint was off the hook by now! The Chiefs made one last drive, but the Raiders piled on top of Grbac for a sack on the game’s final play. Final score, 49-31. Triumph!”
