Raiders Fans And Neck Tattoos

I started this blog on Friday, but had to run off to Long Beach for a consumer show before I could finish it...

The Chargers game was a little disappointing. We weren't able to leave work at a decent time so we got stuck in some gnarly traffic on the 15. Around 8 miles north of the stadium traffic got heavy and we averaged at best 10 MPH. By the time we got to the stadium exit the game was well underway in the first quarter. As it turns out, it wasn't a bad thing. Either way I still can't believe the NFL thought it was a good idea to start a game at 5:15 p.m. during a weeknight in California.

We parked at a nearby Lowe's parking lot, which threatens to tow non-customers from its parking lot with security roaming around trying to enforce it. Our co-worker said he parks there all the time and has never had a problem, so we had some faith in the whole free parking idea. The sign threatening a $350 tow didn't discourage us. My boss bought a tape measure at Lowes, with metric measurements (for some reason that was a big deal for him to find one), just in case the whole tow thing panned out. We were officially paying customers and we figured they couldn't tow us. Of course, they didn't!

We made our way to Qualcomm Stadium and the score was already 24-0 Chargers. However, we did figure the Raiders were leading in one category, most fans throwing up in the parking lot, which stunk of stale booze and piss. Far worse than any tailgating smells at Gopher football games, believe it or not. We made our way to our seats through the sea of black and silver and saw some seriously sketchy stuff. One thing is for sure, Raiders fans intimidate through dress and actions, and they don't relent ... to the point of making the game unpleasant. We were on the Chargers sideline in row 4 ... not bad seats, but a tough view of the action.

The NFL long ago made the leap from family atmosphere to disgusting and this game backed it up. I'd much rather enjoy the NFL games from the comfort of my sofa than Qualcomm. And, the beer isn't $8 at home and my carpet usually doesn't smell like piss. I'd say the NFL loses its luster when you attend a game in person. Maybe it's just my experiences at the Metrodome and Qualcomm, easily two of the worst stadiums in the game. I doubt my feelings would change if I went to Oakland, that much is for sure.

We left the game after the 3rd quarter and had a few Tecates and some cooked scallops, they were frozen inside, from a local KTM dealer's RV tailgate BBQ. He hasn't missed a game in 7 years but, you guessed it, he managed to miss this game. Partially from his drunken state, and the other from a Raider fan stealing his cousin's tickets from his back pocket. At least that's the story his cousin tells. He probably found them sitting on the kitchen counter when he got home!

All in all, the lesson learned here is the NFL isn't a family atmosphere. If you are all for Junior learning how to binge drink, puke, swear, get neck tattoos, lack respect for others around you, overeat and generally just stink at an early age, an NFL stadium is the place for you. Don't forget to buy Junior a Raiders jersey while you're at it, he'll fit right in 10 years from now.

That's it for today...I'm swamped at work and really don't want to stay 3 hours late again. Still no cable or Internet. I'm beating the odds!