I don't care that the level of play Friday night will barely be above an '87 scab game. I don't care that both teams will just be desperately trying to avoid any injuries before week 1. I still want to see the guys wearing blue beat the tainted, evil guts out of the goddamn Raiders. They say that you have to be taught to hate, but it didn't take much instruction for me to develop a frothing, rabid hatred of the Raiders. After L.A. snuffed Seattle's Cinderella run in the 1983 AFC title game, my 8-year-old soul was crushed. Since then, everything about the Raiders organization has filled me with disgust and revulsion.
The perfect expression of this was at a game back in 1997, which the Seahawks won 45-34 behind a huge day from Warren Moon. At the time, my seats were in the very top row of the Kingdome in the south end zone. There was this clump of Oakland fans a few rows ahead of us, and the whole game they never shut up about how bad-ass, how tough the Raiders were. Even down by 11 very late in the game, with the Hawks running out the clock, they would not stop taunting us Seattle fans and preening like dirtbag peacocks. Finally, I snapped and screamed:
"YOUR TEAM IS 3-5!!!!! OAKLAND SUCKS! SHUT THE HELL UP!!"
Only after the words escaped my mouth did I realize my chances of getting shivved in the parking lot just exponentially increased. Thankfully, I lived to tell the tale.
If you are going to the game tomorrow night and you run into any similar behavior, remind them of this inconvenient truth for Raider Nation. Since 2003:
Seahawks: 51-29 with 5 playoff appearances, 4 division titles, 4 playoff wins and an NFC title.
Raiders: 19-61. WORST in the NFL over the last 5 years. Best finish since '03? 5-11.
Commitment to excellence indeed. Kick their asses, Seahawks back-ups!
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