When saint asked me to assume front-page duties for Silver & Black Pride, my first two impulses were:
- Who will read it?
- And for those few who do frequent this site, how will they react?
See, when I was asked to do the same for Athletics Nation a month or so later, I knew there was a wide audience, and I knew, for the most part, that I was accepted by said audience. Eighteen months of work had paid off. And some of it was "need"; I am no stat-head (though I am amazed by their immense passion and knowledge), but I bring a first-hand, historical perspective that was missing from AN, and I write from the heart.
I think that was what saint was hoping to see here as well; to bring that blog cred to Silver & Black Pride. I will be the first to admit that x's and o's aren't my bag. And I think that's fine because the little community that is starting to assemble here has those things covered quite nicely.
A couple of weeks ago, I had the audacity to sneak in a football-related post on Athletics Nation. My primary objective was to see how many Raider fans, new and old were out there, and more importantly, how many I could possibly steer towards this site.
As is the case at AN, there is plenty of talent here. Oh, we may not be large, but we are loud (hey, just like an actual Raider game!) We encourage you to keep doing what you're doing; your voices will be heard. There is no ego here; if saint or I see something front-page worthy, we'll be sure to stick it there. In fact, we'll be glad to.
As for me, well, my love for baseball is only rivaled by my lust for football. I need them both. Baseball is my Jekyll to football's Hyde (Or is it the other way around? Doesn't matter.) And so while pitchers and catchers get set to report this weekend, I am equally intrigued by the goings-on at Raider Headquarters.
There is a lot to like about this coming season.
Oakland is riding a winning streak, and that should not be understated, especially when you're trying to change a losing culture in the locker room. The draft is looming and options are ample at the seventh spot. Hey, and Raiderette tryouts are just two months away (score one for football!)
The schedule has its rough patches; it always does. The Raiders take to the road to face the last two Super Bowl champions, and will also host last year's runner-ups in the conference finals. And there's those six games against AFC West rivals, two of whom will have new coaches pacing the sidelines. Oakland, on the other hand, will have a familiar face running the joint, and the general consensus in these parts is that it's a good thing.
And I'll be there for it all, curious as ever, and hopeful as hell. I've held season tickets since 1997 and that trend will continue this year. I've had the good fortune of attending at least one game in each of the Raiders' three Super Bowl winning seasons, and was at the AFC Championship Game against Tennessee in 2003. There's nothing like winning. Check that. There's nothing like winning, Raider-style.
Winning will surely bring more people to this site (when AN started, the A's were coming off four straight playoff appearances, thus having plenty of momentum in which to build). Tyler Bleszinski, founder of SB Nation and AN, wanted to create a sports bar-like atmosphere for A's fans to hang out. It's that kind of environment that saint and I would love to duplicate here because, well, no one knows bars like Raider fans (no, I don't mean those kind of bars). Hopefully we can get some fans of the female variety here just to mix things up a bit.
I will be here, contributing what I can, when I can. And always reading. Thank you for being here, and for your support.
Go Raiders!