Greatness of the Raidess is their future
- Thread starter JazzFan
- Start date
"Yeah, but what? Think Al minds the fact the Chucky went to Tampa and won the Super Bowl? Well, yeah, he minds right now, but in the end he doesn't care. Let me tell you a story. Years ago, the Morabitos owned the San Francisco 49ers, and wanted to sell; it was Al who found them a buyer. Al brought in the DeBartolos, Edward Sr. and little Eddie Junior, on Al's turf. It was to Al Davis that DeBartolo Sr. complained when the Morabitos upped their initial asking price. They wanted more. DeBartolo was about to walk, with Eddie Junior saying, please Daddy, please buy the team, please. Eddie Sr. was about to walk because the 49ers were a business decision to him, just a toy to Eddie Junior.
"Al said, 'No, go ahead and buy them -- you''ll never be sorry.' So Eddie Sr. looked at Al and saw that he was a serious man, and he bought the team. Now in the ensuing years, the 49ers won not one but five Super Bowls, four of them in the decade between 1985 and 1995, when Al's Raiders were walking in the wilderness, on I-5, between L.A. and Oakland, in the twilight zone of the Grapevine and often also in the court room, between the NFL and Pete Rozelle. But as long as Al got his finder's fee on the Niner deal, then he was fine with it. How many team owners in all team sports would've done that to the competing team in its own region? Think, say, Peter Angelos would've done that for a baseball team coming into Washington, D.C.?
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"Al not only hired the first African-American coach in the modern era, he hired the first Hispanic-American coach in the modern era. And he won with both. Because he didn't hire them for what they looked like, he hired them because of what they could do and because they were Raiders down to the common white meat.
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"So, Dub, you're saying the Raiders are not going to become garbage, that this wasn't their last hurrah, that they'll be back even though they are $48 mil over the cap?"
"I'm saying Tampa Bay is the NFL Super Bowl champion, and deserving champions. Champions come and go. It's the great dynasties, the larger than life characters like Al Davis that impact generations of lives and teams and Super Bowls plural squared, they are the constants, the forever, what the champions must play off in order to be champions. Even losing they are essential because they are always there, the eternal verities, like villany, or heroism. If you're around, and even some years when you're not, Al Davis is going to have an effect on your life. Barret Robbins is about to find that out. Al will read that situation, then act. I've seen him save guys headed for the abyss, if they were Cliff Branch and could help the Raiders. I've seen him cut guys loose. I've seen him be nice to children. Al's a great football man, a good ally, and a bad adversary. I don't really recommend the latter. All I can say is, bring a lunch if you're the latter.
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good read.
"Al said, 'No, go ahead and buy them -- you''ll never be sorry.' So Eddie Sr. looked at Al and saw that he was a serious man, and he bought the team. Now in the ensuing years, the 49ers won not one but five Super Bowls, four of them in the decade between 1985 and 1995, when Al's Raiders were walking in the wilderness, on I-5, between L.A. and Oakland, in the twilight zone of the Grapevine and often also in the court room, between the NFL and Pete Rozelle. But as long as Al got his finder's fee on the Niner deal, then he was fine with it. How many team owners in all team sports would've done that to the competing team in its own region? Think, say, Peter Angelos would've done that for a baseball team coming into Washington, D.C.?
.................
"Al not only hired the first African-American coach in the modern era, he hired the first Hispanic-American coach in the modern era. And he won with both. Because he didn't hire them for what they looked like, he hired them because of what they could do and because they were Raiders down to the common white meat.
..................
"So, Dub, you're saying the Raiders are not going to become garbage, that this wasn't their last hurrah, that they'll be back even though they are $48 mil over the cap?"
"I'm saying Tampa Bay is the NFL Super Bowl champion, and deserving champions. Champions come and go. It's the great dynasties, the larger than life characters like Al Davis that impact generations of lives and teams and Super Bowls plural squared, they are the constants, the forever, what the champions must play off in order to be champions. Even losing they are essential because they are always there, the eternal verities, like villany, or heroism. If you're around, and even some years when you're not, Al Davis is going to have an effect on your life. Barret Robbins is about to find that out. Al will read that situation, then act. I've seen him save guys headed for the abyss, if they were Cliff Branch and could help the Raiders. I've seen him cut guys loose. I've seen him be nice to children. Al's a great football man, a good ally, and a bad adversary. I don't really recommend the latter. All I can say is, bring a lunch if you're the latter.
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good read.
