Say what you want about the Raiders, they haven’t been good in a long time but growing up in the Bay Area and as a lifelong Raider fan I can say that there’s nothing in the world of sports that compares to cheering for the Raiders in the Coliseum and there never will be again.

Today will mark the final game the Raiders ever play in Oakland and it sucks!

Of the countless experiences I’ve had in the coliseum let me just share one of my more memorable moments.

It was a Monday night game against the Broncos in the coliseum, we are sitting behind the south end zone on the second level, right before the game I sneak past an usher to walk down into the Black Hole to try and get down by the field before kickoff, I could only get down to about row 4 before I ran into a mass of other fans also trying to get down to the field.

I can see a group of Raiders who have huddled near the end zone, they break and out of the huddle comes number 81 and he jogs over to the group of fans in the Black Hole and proceeds to flick the ball into the stands.

I’m within feet but at the back of the pack, a sea of hands extends into the air and what I can only describe as pure pandemonium breaks out. Spiked shoulder pads, gorillas and black sombreros all reaching for the ball, for a spit second I see it bouncing at the fingertips of a host of different characters but just as quickly I lose sight of it again.

Desperate, I lean forward and jump to try and see where it has gone and to my utter surprise I see it, it’s right in front of me! I reach out with one hand and I make contact, tapping it back in my direction and then reach out again, this time with both hands and secure the ball as I fall to the concrete steps covering the prized possession with my whole body. As I look up from my crouched position I make eye contact with a human skull, he says one word -

“RUN”

And so I did, I ran with Tim Browns ball as fast as I have ever run, out of the Black Hole and back up to our seats where my dad and brother had witnessed the whole thing from above. They assumed I wouldn’t make it out alive but I beat the odds.

Obviously still have the ball and we will get it out from time to time, on special family occasions like baptisms and weddings.

I’m going to miss that place, between A’s and Raiders games I have a thousand memories!