Raider Nation
Encyclopedia
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. They are particularly associated with a section of the Oakland Coliseum known as the 'black hole' (sections 104, 105) which is usually occupied by rowdy fans. sometimes if sections 104 and 105 get filled the black hole will move to sections 104,105,106, and 107 The origin of the name is obscure; certainly it was in vogue during the early 1980s, when Raider fans from the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
were forced to travel to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
or elsewhere to watch their team.
Why the Oakland Raiders would have such a dedicated fan base is not clear. The city's working-class background is cited, as is the influence of "outlaw" owner Al Davis
Al Davis
Allen "Al" Davis was an American football executive. He was the principal owner of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League from 1970 to 2011...
. The team's aggressive style of play during the 1970s and 1980s, when the Raiders won their three Super Bowls, is also mentioned. Members of the Raider Nation take pride in their image; Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
, a Raider fan in the last years of his life, wrote, "The massive Raider Nation is beyond doubt the sleaziest and rudest and most sinister mob of thugs and wackos ever assembled."
The team's fans devotion is chronicled in "Better to Reign in Hell," a book written by San Diego English professors Jim Miller and Kelly Mayhew, who are also Raider fans.