The Day the Raiders Football Died

[Willmark]

With apologies to Don McClean and American Pie (revised 11-2-25)

The Day the (Raiders) Football Died

A long, long time ago, I can still remember
How Raiders football used to make me smile
And I knew if the Raiders had one chance
That they could make the Broncos prance
And we’d be laughin’, beatin’ the Chiefs all the while

But football season made me shiver
With every loss the Raiders delivered
Bad news on the end-zone doorstep
The Raiders offense couldn’t take one more step
I can’t remember how our winning died
When I read about our wounded poise and pride
But on first down we ran straight inside
The day the football died

So, bye-bye, Al Davis’ pride,
Drove my Chevy to the stadium, but the stadium was dry
And them good old Raider fans were drinkin’, whiskey and rye
Singin’, “This’ll be the game where we die,
This’ll be the game where we die.”

Did you write playbooks without the shove?
And do you have faith in Lombardi above
If the offensive “game plan” tells you so?
Do you believe in the Holy roll(er)?
Can football save your mortal soul?
Can you teach me how to stop watchin’ this nightmarish show?

Well, I know that you're attached to them
'Cause we sure ain’t singing the Super Chargers hymn
Us diehard fans all kicked off our shoes
To watch the Raiders give us the blues
I was a lonely Raider fan outta buck(s)
With too many football frustrations — damn that Tuck!
But I knew we were out of luck
The day, the football died

I started singin' bye-bye, Al Davis’ pride,
Drove my Chevy to the stadium, but the stadium was dry
And them good old Raider fans were drinkin’, whiskey and rye
Singin’, “This’ll be the game where we die,
This’ll be the game where we die.”

Now for forty years we’ve been on our own
And the losses grow fat on a rollin’ stone
But that’s not how it used to be
When the jackass coached for the dopey King
In a jersey he borrowed from Snake, you see
And an anguish that came from you and me

Oh, and while Mark Davis was lookin’ down
The jackass coach stole his Hooters crown
The meeting room was adjourned
No game plan was returned
And while McDaniels was lookin’ for a spark
The Raiders practiced in the park
And we sang Autumn Wind in the dark
The day the football died

We were singin' bye-bye, Al Davis’ pride,
Drove my Chevy to the stadium, but the stadium was dry
And them good old Raider fans were drinkin’, whiskey and rye
Singin’, “This’ll be the game where we die,
This’ll be the game where we die.”

Lack of offense in the summer camp swelter
The fans ran lookin’ for some shelter
The silver fades, the losses last
Carr’s pass landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With Jimmy G on the sidelines in a cast

Now, the Immaculate “Deception” — NOT sweet perfume
While the League overplays that pathetic tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, Raider Nation never got the chance
'Cause the Raiders tried to take the field
The scoreboard refused to yield
Do you recall what The Sea of Hands revealed
The day, the football died

We started singin' bye-bye, Al Davis’ pride,
Drove my Chevy to the stadium, but the stadium was dry
And them good old Raider fans were drinkin’, whiskey and rye
Singin’, “This’ll be the game where we die,
This’ll be the game where we die.”

Oh, and there the offense was, all in one place
A formation of wide receivers lost in space
With no time on the season left to start again
So come on, Jimmy G be nimble, Jimmy G be quick
Jimmy G couldn’t play for the 49ers in Candlestick
'Cause losses are the Raiders only friend

Oh, and as I watched the team on this stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No fandom born in Hell
Could break that Raiders spell
And as the losses climbed high into the night
To light the Al Davis sacrificial light
I saw the commissioner laughing with delight
The day, the football died

He was singin' bye-bye, Al Davis’ pride,
Drove my Chevy to the stadium, but the stadium was dry
And them good old Raider fans were drinkin’, whiskey and rye
Singin’, “This’ll be the game where we die,
This’ll be the game where we die.”

I met a Raiderette who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the team’s store
Where I'd heard the Raiders were good before
But the man there said the Raiders couldn’t play

And in the streets, the season-ticket holders screamed
The fans cried and the hopeless dreamed
But not a snap count was spoken
The points on the scoreboard all were broken
And the three men I admire most
John Madden, Snake, and the Ghost to the Post
They caught the Madden Cruiser away from the coast
The day, the football died

And they were singin' bye-bye, Al Davis’ pride,
Drove my Chevy to the stadium, but the stadium was dry
And them good old Raider fans were drinkin’, whiskey and rye
Singin’, “This’ll be the game where we die,
This’ll be the game where we die.”

They were singin' bye-bye, Al Davis’ pride,
Drove my Chevy to the stadium, but the stadium was dry
And them good old Raider fans were drinkin’, whiskey and rye
Singin’, “This’ll be the game where we die.”

[CTEX]

Commitment to Excrement.

[LayneStaley]

That’s funny.

[FlyBono24]

More recently was when that clown hired Josh McDumbass. Had a playoff caliber offense and special teams... just needed to fix the defense.
Instead this moron completely destroys the team and brings in his trash QBs and everyone else bails or is traded. (Exactly what he did in Denver too).
Except Denver a actually rebuilt after his tenure and won a SB.
These clowns still haven't gotten a HC or QB worth a damn since then

[Attyla]

More recently was when that clown hired Josh McDumbass. Had a playoff caliber offense and special teams... just needed to fix the defense.
Instead this moron completely destroys the team and brings in his trash QBs and everyone else bails or is traded. (Exactly what he did in Denver too).
Except Denver a actually rebuilt after his tenure and won a SB.
These clowns still haven't gotten a HC or QB worth a damn since then

I know, if they had just kept Derek Carr and hired head coach Derek Carr we would have won 10 Super Bowls

[The Real CK]

[Toast]

I think it died the day that Al traded Chucky away...or when what's his nuts, fat boy from the Ravens belly flopped on Gannon and broke his shoulder. That was the end of the "good ol days".

Tony Sarigusa. And as smug as he was after that cheap shot I would gladly piss on his grave.

[Oaktownonly]

I'll go with when Derrick Brooks broke Rich Gannon's neck. Been in QB purgatory ever since.

[Raidernation1979]

I'll go with when Derrick Brooks broke Rich Gannon's neck. Been in QB purgatory ever since.

We’ve been searching since Gannon. Carr showed potential early on but plateaued and then regressed. Should have dumped him after 2017-2018 and started our hunt

[LayneStaley]

If they were gonna pay Chip 6 mil just to be OC they shoulda traded a pick(s) and offered Dan Campbell 100 mil. That guy turned the f[raiders_icon]cking Lions around.

[GoodTimeCharlie]

[*]If they were gonna pay Chip 6 mil just to be OC they shoulda traded a pick(s) and offered Dan Campbell 100 mil. That guy turned the fcking Lions around.

Kinda unique in the Head Coaching world. Former TE and TE’s Coach.

So that’s an offensive mind, coupled with that TE toughness.

I’d be scouring the league as well as college football for that exact background.

I have no f[raiders_icon]cking idea why this wouldn’t be attempted after decades of failure. Ffs man!!!

Tired of endless f[raiders_icon]cking idiocy with this organization.

[KillerRaider30]

Al said long go he wanted to build a team like the greatest show on turf.

It was at this time he abandoned the culture of what was the Raiders; a kick ass defense and thought only of building

Watch Rod Martin say we gotta abuse them! We gotta abuse them!

offenses.

Can't tell you the date but we used to be feared.
Not because of our offense, but because teams knew our defense was going to hurt them.

The culture of the Raiders was DEFENSE in a galaxy and time far far away.

[raiderkoch]

Tony Sarigusa. And as smug as he was after that cheap shot I would gladly piss on his grave.

Seriously

[Willmark]

Al said long go he wanted to build a team like the greatest show on turf.

It was at this time he abandoned the culture of what was the Raiders; a kick ass defense and thought only of building

Watch Rod Martin say we gotta abuse them! We gotta abuse them!

offenses.

Can't tell you the date but we used to be feared.
Not because of our offense, but because teams knew our defense was going to hurt them.

The culture of the Raiders was DEFENSE in a galaxy and time far far away.

Sure, but the NFL that the Raiders defense of old doesn’t exist anymore.

[GoodTimeCharlie]

If they were gonna pay Chip 6 mil just to be OC they shoulda traded a pick(s) and offered Dan Campbell 100 mil. That guy turned the fcking Lions around.

Out of curiosity to see if one can catch lightning in a bottle twice. Asked ChatGPT to give me any and all TE Coaches that were promoted to OC in the last 5 years.

Basically imagining if I were an owner, how would one at least attempt to find the next Dan Campbell.

The search for a Campbell clone in the preliminary stage gives me these names…

Tommy Rees, Browns. Promoted from TE Coach to OC this year. Played for 3 years as a QB in college.

Nick Caley, Texans. Promoted to OC from TE Coach this year. Coached TEs for 7 years total. No playing career.

Nate Byham, Stanford. Promoted this year. Had a cup of coffee in the NFL as a TE for 4 years.

Keenan Bailey, Ohio State. Promoted to co-OC. Still coaches the TEs. No playing career. (Quick glance on Wiki makes me think “nah” to this guy. That and the Buckeyes make guys look better than they are. “Right Chip?”

Clay Patterson, Kent State. Promoted to OC this year. Played college ball. His WIki tells me if he had it, football would know by now. So, “No”.

Alex Golesh, Tennessee. Similar to Clay.

Well if I were owner I’d interview them all, but dumbf[raiders_icon]ck Davis could at the very least give a phone call to the first 3.

That took about 30 minutes of my day. I can’t imagine dumbf[raiders_icon]ck couldn’t find 30 minutes to do the same. Especially with a tailwind of commanding one of the NFL’s storied franchises to abject misery for the last 14 years.

[Xramfan]

More recently was when that clown hired Josh McDumbass. Had a playoff caliber offense and special teams... just needed to fix the defense.
Instead this moron completely destroys the team and brings in his trash QBs and everyone else bails or is traded. (Exactly what he did in Denver too).
Except Denver a actually rebuilt after his tenure and won a SB.
These clowns still haven't gotten a HC or QB worth a damn since then

Since we are playing the woulda coulda shoulda game, we should have flushed the turd in 2016 while he had some value before he went full fetal.