The Black Hole!
The Silver and Black, The Black Hole, or the Raider Nation -- these fans are arguably the most devoted fans in football. However, just as the sky was gray and gloomy, so were some of the attitudes in “Lot B.” All in attendance agreed that a 2-14 team was not what they were all used to. The devout Raider fans however are always upbeat and ready to cheer on their beloved Raiders, and they still live by the motto “Just Win Baby!”
So with the Tour Coach snowed-in in Denver, we (Lenny and Nikki) took the trip up North from Orange County to take in our first Tailgate of the 2006 Tour. Not having the “Tour Coach” to attract attention, we had to try and find out where all the true tailgaters were gathering. Although the stadium lots don’t open until 5 hours before game time, as we approached the stadium from the freeway, cars and RVs were lining up 12 hours early! The true Nation was tailgating right on the side of the freeway!
So, we thought we would take a gander at the front of the line of RVs to see what kind of wait we were in store for. At the front of the line was Tour friend Joe Cahn, “The Commissioner of Tailgating” himself. As we turned our vehicle around to greet Joe and head back to the end of the line, a man who could be mistaken as nothing other than a “True Raider Fan” came running up and stopped us. He introduced himself as “Kingsford Kirk” and said, “I knew you were coming and I’m going to win today’s Taste-off.” He told us to latch on to his crew and follow him into the stadium for a REAL tailgate experience.
So, we followed him in, got set-up and along with our 3 girls, we started making the rounds through “Lot B.” There was no mistaking that we were deep inside the Raider Nation. Everywhere we looked, people were dressed as Pirates or in the traditional Black and Silver.
With Christmas right around the corner, the tailgating took on a real Holiday flavor. We saw deep-fried turkey with all the fixings being prepared for a large group of tailgaters and another crew had tamales warming over hot coals.
After sorting through all the recipes and holding our Taste-off, a tough decision, we went out to let everyone know who the winners were. We were graciously greeted with surprised faces and many thanks for all the great Camp Chef cooking gear we awarded.
With the long journey back to Los Angeles ahead of us, we decided we had better start heading on our way. We were sorry to have to leave so soon, it looked like the real party was just about to get started. Kirk and his crew tried to talk us into staying by tempting us with more delicious food and drink, but we knew we had better get going or we would never make it home for Christmas Eve.
Thank you to all the Raider Fans and Tailgaters for the wonderful hospitality. We can’t wait to get back next season and share another great tailgate with you all. Next year, we’ll stay a bit longer -- and eat a lot more!
“Just Win Baby!"
See more pictures from the
Oakland tailgate in our Scrapbook OntheBlacktop.com!
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