Raider Nation mourns the loss of super fan 'Raider Ron'

The Raider Nation is mourning the loss of a dedicated super fan, "Raider Ron," who passed away this weekend.

Ron Rickard held a streak of attending more than 246 consecutive games, both home and away; a feat that was honored by the Raiders late in the 2014 season by being selected to light the Al Davis Memorial Torch before kickoff and was interviewed on the field by Lincoln Kennedy.

When he reached the milestone of 200 straight Raiders games on Sept. 10, 2012 in Oakland, Rickard was honored by Bad Boyz of BBQ with a Raiders cake. Saying of his 12-plus years without missing a game: "One year I told my wife, you know, I want to go to every game and do it one time. So I did it and everything went pretty smooth so I did again the next year."

Rickard was a member of the Bad Boyz and regularly competed in tailgate cooking events with them. He was affectionately referred to by some as "The General."

In 2013, Rickard fell ill with hepatitis C. He lacked the health insurance to cover medical expenses and needed a liver transplant. Raiders fans across the country became aware of his situation and donations poured in, including someone from Tennessee which made a house payment for Rickard, according to the Orange County Register. "(Rickard) said 70 or 80 people, many of them Raiders fans, have offered to serve as living donors for him,"

Rickard's love and dedication to his Silver & Black family would unexpectedly return to him 10-fold during his illness. Raiders fans went on to help Rickard attend games by furnishing him tickets, rides and even airfare.

Early in the 2014 season, he won the Oakland Raiders One Nation Your Story contest with the grand prize being a trip to Wembley Stadium in London to see the Raiders take on the Miami Dolphins, helping him to keep his streak alive.

Raider Ron adopted the Raiders as his team when he was nine years old. He saw his first Raiders home game at the age of 24 and began his consecutive games streak in 2000. He will be missed by Raider Nation.

Editor's note: Levi Damien contributed to this piece and would like to send his condolences to the Rickard family, as well as his very large extended Raiders family.