| One of the most colorful franchises in all of | | | | They arrive early for tailgate parties dressed in silver |
| professional football is without a doubt the Oakland | | | | and black paint, masks and costumes. One of the |
| Raiders. Based out of Oakland, CA, the Raiders are | | | | more rowdy spots in the stadium is known as the |
| yet another original AFL member that came into the | | | | "black hole". This part of the stadium is definitely not |
| NFL during the merger in 1970. As a member of the | | | | for the feint of heart.Hall of FameThe Oakland |
| AFC West, the Raiders have been to 5 Super Bowls, | | | | Raiders have 18 current members in the pro football |
| winning 3 of them. Let's take a closer look at the | | | | Hall of Fame. They include: Marcus Allen Fred |
| history of the Oakland Raiders.Al Davis has owned | | | | Biletnikoff George Blanda Bob Brown Willie Brown |
| the Raiders since 1972. Originally founded in Oakland, | | | | Dave Casper Al Davis Eric Dickerson Mike Haynes |
| the team played there until Davis moved them to | | | | Ted Hendricks James Lofton Howie Long Ronnie Lott |
| Los Angeles in 1982. Later, the team moved back to | | | | John Madden Ron Mix Jim Otto Art Shell Gene |
| Oakland in 1995 and remains there to this day.The | | | | UpshawThere have been many other notable players |
| football team has had the colors of silver and black | | | | on the Raiders over the years including: Ray Guy Lyle |
| since Davis was general manager of the team in | | | | Alzado Cliff Branch Bo Jackson Carl Weathers (later |
| 1963. He used these colors originally because all TV's | | | | played Apollo Creed in "Rocky" movies) Jack Tatum |
| were available in black and white only and these | | | | Jerry RiceThe Raiders have been known as a |
| colors showed up better than others.John Madden | | | | franchise that has had more than its share of bad |
| became the head coach of the Raiders in 1969. He | | | | football drafts over the years. This, combined with |
| later guided the team to its first ever Super Bowl win | | | | the constant head coaching changes by Al Davis, has |
| in 1976. Madden stayed on as coach of the football | | | | made winning sometimes difficult over the years. One |
| team until 1979 when he left the team and the | | | | of the more memorable draft day mistakes was the |
| league, to go into TV broadcasting.In 1982, Davis | | | | selection of troubled QB Todd Marinovich.The |
| moved the team to Los Angeles, due in part to the | | | | Oakland Raiders have some of the storied rivalries |
| refusal of the city of Oakland to remodel the football | | | | among any NFL football team, with the fiercest being |
| stadium. In their first year in Los Angeles, the team | | | | San Diego, Denver and Kansas City. Even when the |
| went to the Super Bowl and won. That has been the | | | | Raiders are not as competitive, teams do not like |
| last time the Raiders have won a Super Bowl. In | | | | playing them. That is one reason why the team will |
| 1995, the team moved back to the city of | | | | always remain as one of the more popular ones in |
| Oakland.The fans of the Oakland Raiders are some | | | | the league. |
| of the rowdiest fans in all of professional football. | | | | |