For the Millennial generation it may likely be impossible to fathom that the Oakland Raiders were once the most feared, respected and dominant franchise not just in the National Football League but in all of professional sports itself. The decline and ruin of the Raiders has been stunning. But, its roots go all the way back to the man that built them into what was proudly labeled as “Professional Sports Winningest Franchise” from 1967 through 1993.
Al’s Absolute Power Corrupted Absolutely
The late great Raider owner Al Davis built the team from its embarrassing start as an American Football League team playing on high school fields into the most powerful pro franchise in the world. But this success eventually went to Davis’ head as he went from being a rebel with a cause to becoming a caricature of himself. Davis’ long fight with then NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle in the 1980’s about his move of the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles proved to be the beginning of the end. The Raiders did win the 1983 NFL Championship while in LA, but soon declined in quality of play on the fielde. Los Angeles never did live up to its promises of upgrading the Los Angeles Memorila Coliseum and Davis returned the team to Oakland in 1995 where it has since made the playoffs just three times, and not once since 2002.
Erratic Leadership
Since he returned the silver and black to Oakland, Davis became more erratic and secretive and refused to listen to his staff in regards to player personnel decisions and game strategy. The older Davis got the more he meddled and the worse the results became on the field. Beyond that Davis never groomed his son Mark properly for the transition of ownership to him upon Al’s death in 2011. Mark Davis has proven to lack the ability to lead the Raiders either from a business or a football prospective and now the under-financed club is wallowing around trying to find a state of the art stadium while currently operating in the dilapidated O.CO Coliseum which was opened in 1966.
Does the Worst Team in Football have a Future?
Oakland is 1-11 and coming of a 52-0 disgrace at a bad St. Louis Rams team last week. The Raiders rank dead last in the NFL for scoring offense and next to last for scoring defense. Without a quality stadium and competent owner the Raiders face a miserable future. The question ultimately comes down to if they even have a future?
