By Walter Spargo
May 13, 2014 6:15 am PST
On Saturday, May 10, members of Raider Nation participated in a rally organized by Super-fan Ray “Dr. Death” Perez. I was on hand for the event. The purpose was to show support and thanks to the Davis Family for their commitment to stay in Oakland and to convince Mayor Jean Quan and the City of Oakland to move forward with building a new stadium for the Raiders as soon as possible.
The crowd first met gathered outside of Raiders Headquarters. We chanted in the hopes of convincing Raiders Owner Mark Davis to come out of the draft room so we could thank him personally and hand him a petition to build a new Raiders stadium with over 10,000 signatures on it. “We want to thank Mr. Davis personally and let him know that he has our support”, said Dr. Death.
Despite being told that Mr. Davis would not likely come out to greet us, we persisted with the Raider chants. Several key members of the Raiders media poked their heads out of the second floor balcony, but no Mr. Davis. Finally, after nearly an hour of persistence, he finally graced us with his presence. He was given a shirt and a token necklace. When Dr.Death explained to him that we were here to rally support for a new stadium, he responded with “We have to get it done”. He took time to thank the entire crowd for their support and especially a fan from Denver, myself from Reno and Ron and Michelle Harris, who flew in from Seattle and took this video:
The gathering, filled with the usual Raider intensity, took Mr Davis a little by surprise at first, but once he saw that we were there to pledge support for him, he became more relaxed and personally greeted several of the Raider Nation members, including me. ” We are not fans” Kevin “Don’t Even” Stewart of the Raiders Rap group Dem Raider Boyz told Mr Davis, “We are a nation”. We showed Mr Davis just how accurate that statement is. He was very appreciative and he reciprocated the love that we showed him. Much like his father, the late Al Davis, Mark is very supportive and appreciative of the Raider Nation. The encounter was short, sweet and to the point and he returned to work in the draft room after just a few minutes with the fans.
The gathering then migrated over to Oakland City Hall and occupied the front lawn where live and recorded music was played. Several people got up in front of the group and spoke about what the team staying in Oakland meant to them. “The economic impact on the City of Oakland would be devastating if the Raiders were to leave town” said one speaker. She went on to point out that the jobs which would be created by Coliseum City would cut down on crime and unemployment. Michelle Harris pointed out that the revenue that is put into the local economy by out-of-town fans who come from all over the country and even overseas, would be sorely missed. It was also pointed out that the money for the new stadium is available from investors. It is just a matter of the City Counsel getting the project off of the ground.
Once all of the keynote speakers gave their speeches, the group marched down Broadway chanting and holding up banners and signs. The support from the passers by was truly overwhelming. There are a surprising number of people in Oakland who are not diehard members of Raider Nation who realize the importance of keeping the team in Oakland.
There were members of the media present as well. The Accidental Travel Writer was on hand at City Hall and posted this. Matthew Artz of the Oakland Tribune was present at Raiders Headquarters, conducting interviews of fans. Click here to read. Overall the event was a huge success and a great time was had by all. There was a lot of acknowledgment from the public towards the event. As we marched down Broadway, there were honks from nearly every passer-by. For photos of the event, click here .
there is this Better for u Im not Dissing the raiders
May 13, 2014 6:15 am PST
On Saturday, May 10, members of Raider Nation participated in a rally organized by Super-fan Ray “Dr. Death” Perez. I was on hand for the event. The purpose was to show support and thanks to the Davis Family for their commitment to stay in Oakland and to convince Mayor Jean Quan and the City of Oakland to move forward with building a new stadium for the Raiders as soon as possible.
The crowd first met gathered outside of Raiders Headquarters. We chanted in the hopes of convincing Raiders Owner Mark Davis to come out of the draft room so we could thank him personally and hand him a petition to build a new Raiders stadium with over 10,000 signatures on it. “We want to thank Mr. Davis personally and let him know that he has our support”, said Dr. Death.
Despite being told that Mr. Davis would not likely come out to greet us, we persisted with the Raider chants. Several key members of the Raiders media poked their heads out of the second floor balcony, but no Mr. Davis. Finally, after nearly an hour of persistence, he finally graced us with his presence. He was given a shirt and a token necklace. When Dr.Death explained to him that we were here to rally support for a new stadium, he responded with “We have to get it done”. He took time to thank the entire crowd for their support and especially a fan from Denver, myself from Reno and Ron and Michelle Harris, who flew in from Seattle and took this video:
The gathering, filled with the usual Raider intensity, took Mr Davis a little by surprise at first, but once he saw that we were there to pledge support for him, he became more relaxed and personally greeted several of the Raider Nation members, including me. ” We are not fans” Kevin “Don’t Even” Stewart of the Raiders Rap group Dem Raider Boyz told Mr Davis, “We are a nation”. We showed Mr Davis just how accurate that statement is. He was very appreciative and he reciprocated the love that we showed him. Much like his father, the late Al Davis, Mark is very supportive and appreciative of the Raider Nation. The encounter was short, sweet and to the point and he returned to work in the draft room after just a few minutes with the fans.
The gathering then migrated over to Oakland City Hall and occupied the front lawn where live and recorded music was played. Several people got up in front of the group and spoke about what the team staying in Oakland meant to them. “The economic impact on the City of Oakland would be devastating if the Raiders were to leave town” said one speaker. She went on to point out that the jobs which would be created by Coliseum City would cut down on crime and unemployment. Michelle Harris pointed out that the revenue that is put into the local economy by out-of-town fans who come from all over the country and even overseas, would be sorely missed. It was also pointed out that the money for the new stadium is available from investors. It is just a matter of the City Counsel getting the project off of the ground.
Once all of the keynote speakers gave their speeches, the group marched down Broadway chanting and holding up banners and signs. The support from the passers by was truly overwhelming. There are a surprising number of people in Oakland who are not diehard members of Raider Nation who realize the importance of keeping the team in Oakland.
There were members of the media present as well. The Accidental Travel Writer was on hand at City Hall and posted this. Matthew Artz of the Oakland Tribune was present at Raiders Headquarters, conducting interviews of fans. Click here to read. Overall the event was a huge success and a great time was had by all. There was a lot of acknowledgment from the public towards the event. As we marched down Broadway, there were honks from nearly every passer-by. For photos of the event, click here .
there is this Better for u Im not Dissing the raiders