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I FOUND THIS ARTICLE ON RAIDERNEWS.COM.(MOST RAIDERS FANS, PROBABLY ALREADY READ THIS ARTICLE). I APOLOGIZE, POSTING A LONG ARTICLE, BUT I THOUGHT WE RAIDERS FANS NEEDED TO CHEER UP...AND NOT THINK ABOUT HOW POORLY THE RAIDERS HAVE BEEN PLAYING OR JRUSS OBNOXIOUS, IMMATURE BEHAVIOR. GOD KNOWS WE RAIDERS FANS NEED A BREAK..AND READ THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ANTI-RAIDERS MEDIA.
Obi Wan Raider
Wednesday, September 30 2009 @ 08:02 AM CDT
Contributed by: Ore
The Flip Side of the Pancake...
Far too often we hear the media state that they are reporting the news, as it is without bias, nepotism, favor or without a decided slant. In this article I will explore for my Raider brethren, the “flip side” of the proverbial pancake. We hear all the news against the Raiders being a dysfunctional team full of malcontents and a place where no player in the league wants to go. Let’s examine some of the other teams out there and their players to see if the same coverage and slants are attributed to them and their respective teams.
What better place to start the show than with our neighbors across the Bay, the San Francisco 49ers. All the media pundants and so called experts basically said that the Raiders were fools for not taking Michael Crabtree with their 7th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft this past April. Crabtree was lauded to be the most refined and polished receiver available in the draft. The writing was on the wall in regards to Crabtree from not only the Raiders but other NFL Teams as well that interviewed him. The kid came off as arrogant, *censored*y, self-centered and not a team player. There were even reports that the 49ers were put off by his attitude but they figured his talent was worth the headache.
The only problem was they didn’t figure on him holding out. When Russell held out during his rookie year the media ran rampant with reports of the ineptitude of the Raiders and there inability to sign their 1st round pick. Yet when the same thing is happening across the Bay, its “……. Crabtree is being unrealistic…… He needs to be smarter than he’s being right now………..In this economy he needs to be thankful for what he’s getting, as it’s more money than he’s ever had……….” Notice a familiar theme here? It’s all on the player and not the organization. Hmmm, yeah, fair, unbiased, without slant, yeah right!!! I guess that it’s fitting that Crabtree picked jersey number 15 as his 15 minutes of fame have arrived and passed.
The Detroit Lions manage a feat that no other team in the history of the modern NFL has managed. What is this great accomplishment you ask? They became the first team to go 0-16 in league history. Yet it is the media that claims that the Raiders are without a doubt the most hopeless, hapless, unorganized and pathetic team in the National Football League. No one wants to go there as it is a place of turmoil without parallel WOW! Last time I checked when a team manages to go winless through the season, 16 games, that should more than qualify for all the errant names they hurl at the Raiders. I vaguely remember several media sources saying that the Raiders needed to get Calvin Johnson. Correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t he on the 0-16 Detroit Lions squad. If the Oakland Raiders are indeed as dysfunctional as most in the media go out of their way to try and highlight why then haven’t they had a 0-16 season. Last time I checked the Oakland Raiders had more Lombardi trophies than the Chargers, Falcons, Saints, Chiefs, Jets, Lions, Seahawks, Panthers, Bucs, Bills, Rams, Texans, Broncos, Jaguars, Dolphins, Bengals, Ravens, Titans, Eagles, Colts, Vikings and Bears. That’s 21 teams (65% of the League) in the NFL -and I am sure I left one or two more out- have not had the success the Raiders have had in their history. But, hey, we have been dysfunctional through out our entire history, right?
In the last 10 years the only AFC West team to make it to the big dance was the Raiders. The media likes to tow the line that the Broncos, Chargers and some even claim the Chiefs are the class of the division and/or will take the AFC West this year. None of these teams has even made it to the Super Bowl within the last decade. In our division we have the Broncos that just blew up their roster, the Chargers that get to the playoffs and choke, fire a coach that went 14-2 and the Chiefs that traded away the best TE in the league since Dave Casper. They all sound like the model of functionality now don’t they?
The media is quick to harp on the Raiders and the senseless penalties that they incur. They chalk it up to being undisciplined, sad, a lack of commonsense and pathetic. Where is the commonsense of a Pro-Bowl caliber QB like Rivers taunting and being fined $7,500.00 by the league? Where is the commonsense of firing a coach that goes 14-2? Shawn Merriman was busted for failing a steroid, banned substance or whatever you want to call the darn test. And it gets basically swept under the rug. As a pro athlete you are responsible for what goes in your body. Your body is your “cash cow” for lack of a better word.
Do you really believe he (or the other cheats that do it for that matter) does not know what is going in their “money maker?” If you truly believe that then I have some lovely property on the dark side of Uranus that I’d like to sell you….. .dirt cheap! Is it logical for a team like the Patriots to have been embroiled in the scandal of taping others team’s practices? These are the “golden boys” of the league, led by “the mad genius Billy B?” Eric Mangini knew what they were doing because he was part of their staff at one time. He isn’t exactly the poster boy for truth himself. Especially not after being fined $125,000.00 for lying to the League offices in regards to Favre’s health.
These are but a few instances I submit to the “court of commonsense” my Raider brethren. That being said, it is too far out there on a limb to say that had these same issues I discussed involved our beloved Oakland Raiders, we would still here about them today? In closing a contend, dare I say shout from the mountain top that the media at large are cowards in their attempt to besmirch and tarnish the Oakland Raider’s image when there are substantially brighter and factual examples of other teams and players around the league for their colorful banter to fall upon.
As Always,
Obi-Wan-Raider
The Dark Side of the Force Flows Through the DEFENSE
JOHN 3:16-FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.
PRAYER TO GOD IS THE SOLUTION TO ALL OF LIFE'S PROBLEMS. mink7
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