Before the snap
Introducing a new series/concept/wrinkle to this newsletter, inspired by my recent travels and how they've made me recall my professional football fandom.
As I shared as a note/post on Substack, I’ve been traveling of late which has kept me from writing as much as I might like. But my travels have inspired me to start up another ongoing series. Allow me to explain.
This newsletter started out as a baseball-centric one and has quietly morphed into a golf-heavy one. But those are not the only sports I follow and enjoy. I “made my bones” as it were as a basketball writer. Now, what I haven’t really talked about is probably the most popular sport in America—football (American football, not soccer). Being an alum of the University of Texas at Austin, of course I adore college football. But I don’t think I’ve articulated just how fully the Raiders (which, I knew, mainly, as the Oakland Raiders) were a part of my life.
Part of this was prompted by this recent trip, which was to Pittsburgh and thus featured a lot of Steelers sights and references to the Immaculate Reception.
But I realized it’s something that is important to me and that I should probably translate into my writing.
In bullet point form, I wanted to address why exactly the Raiders are such a big part of my sports identity.
My dad had gone to games with my grandfather during the hey-day of the Raiders in Oakland (the late 60s through the 1970s). All this to say, it’s a part of my family story.
I remember the moment when it was announced that the Raiders would be returned to Oakland from Los Angeles and knowing how, for certain, my dad would be getting season tickets and I would be going to many Raider games.
When they returned from Los Angeles, the team’s headquarters was in Alameda, my hometown.
Perhaps the definitive Raider, Jim Otto, had a house not even 5 minutes away from the house I grew up in.
It was quite common to see Raiders players around Alameda, whether it’s at the grocery story or at local restaurants.
The only non-academic work I’ve ever done were two summer jobs/internships with the Raiders (one in player personnel, one in media).
The Raiders were a part of my life growing up. Yes, they play in Las Vegas now, but when I think about how I conceive of myself and where I came from when it comes to being a sports fan, so much of it is dictated by the Raiders. I’d initially hesitated to really engage with football in this space. But given how this has become a bit of a hodgepodge of sports writing, I felt like it was time. Also, spending time in Pittsburgh amongst all the Steelers fans and the fervor activated the memories and passion that came with growing up just outside of Oakland.
What I’m thinking about doing here is something I’ve been toying with for a long time, in part inspired by Nick Hornsby’s great book, Fever Pitch. I wanted to go through and think about some of the great, important, or pivotal moments in Raiders history that I remember and influenced my fandom. Because you can find these games, basically, in full on YouTube now, I’d like to go back and watch some and see how it corresponds with my remembrances. I’m still thinking of a title for this project. Of course, “A Raiders Fans Notes” comes to mind given that I enjoy Frederick Exley’s great novel A Fan's Notes that in part engages with the idea of football fandom. But it’s still to be decided.
I also imagine that I’ll be getting into some Raiders/NFL-centric writing about the season itself, but for now I’m in this memoir-style approach. I’m wrapping up my travels and will be returning home soon at which point I’ll be starting this endeavor.