The Oakland Raiders are moving to Las Vegas and there are many people, including former head coach John Madden, who is not happy about it. The Raiders also have one of the most rabid fan bases in the NFL with The Black Hole and fans that dress up for games every Sunday. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was talking after the first offseason practice of 2017 and said that true Raiders fans will stick with the team no matter where they play.
The Raiders and the Black Hole
The Oakland Raiders always had an amazing fan base but a similar group of fans also existed in Cleveland with the Dawg Pound.
When the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore, their fans did not follow. Browns fans booed their former team every chance they got and the Browns history remained in Cleveland. Sadly, even when Cleveland got their team back, their fans were never the same.
However, Derek Carr sees the Raiders fans as being different. For one thing, the Las Vegas Raiders will retain the history of the Oakland Raiders. When asked about it, owner Mark Davis said he believed that the Raiders brand were what the fans cheered for and it didn't matter where they played. Carr agrees with this and said that the Raiders fans won't "split up" with the team the way other city's fans did. He said the Raiders have "true fans" that will stick with the team.
This is the third time the Raiders have moved, starting in Oakland, moving to Los Angles, back to Oakland, and now moving to Los Vegas.
The 2017 Oakland Raiders
The unfortunate thing is that the divorce between the Oakland Raiders and the city of Oakland has been rough. The city actually said that they would like the Raiders to leave right now and if the Raiders don't want to be in Oakland, they don't want them there either.
However, there might be good news coming for Derek Carr and fans in Oakland. Marshawn Lynch might be headed to Oakland to play for his hometown Raiders.
Derek Carr spoke about Marshawn Lynch and the possibility of him coming to Oakland to play. He said that Lynch is "one heckuva football player" and that he hopes to play with him.
He said that adding a good player to their team is something that he would love to accomplish this upcoming season. The Oakland Raiders looked like one of the strongest teams in the NFL last year but fell short when Derek Carr missed the playoffs with an injury.
Bringing in Marshawn Lynch might help keep Oakland fans interested but there are people like Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green who is calling for fans to boycott all the remaining games in Oakland. It will be interesting to see if Derek Carr is right about fans sticking with the Raiders before the move.
