Raiderstation

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.”

Thank God I have the mighty Tide to fall back on when I want to watch real FB executed;)

I think it's now final matching the meter of the song. Let me know if anything seems clunky, I think I caught them all.

Willmark wrote: Sun Nov 02, 2025 7:55 pm I think it's now final matching the meter of the song. Let me know if anything seems clunky, I think I caught them all.

Good job Willmark I think you have nailed it!!!!

Oaktown Superman wrote: Thu Oct 23, 2025 4:20 pm I have zero problem with what Siragusa did. You take their QB out, it’s like kill the head and the body will die. If a Raider did that to Tom Brady, no Raiders fan would be mad. Siragusa did what needed to be done.

As much as I hated that f[raiders_icon]cking fat asses blatant cheap shot of gannon what you say was Al's philosphy of the other teams qb going down hard. i know first 5 minutes but whatever other team qb down hard all game.

However what I can not forgive is the Raider team of that day DID NOT A DAMN THING to even the score by blowing out fatgussas's knees. That had to be done no matter the cost and that Raiders team and coach did nothing. I can not forgive that and never have.

Tried a few AI song platforms. As I suspected there are built in guards to protect song copyright. Meaning it won’t generate the vocals to the tune of American Pie.

ELCAraiderfan wrote: Mon Nov 03, 2025 2:41 am As much as I hated that fcking fat asses blatant cheap shot of gannon what you say was Al's philosphy of the other teams qb going down hard. i know first 5 minutes but whatever other team qb down hard all game.

However what I can not forgive is the Raider team of that day DID NOT A DAMN THING to even the score by blowing out fatgussas's knees. That had to be done no matter the cost and that Raiders team and coach did nothing. I can not forgive that and never have.

Oh, that team was scared to death of the Ravens. No doubt in my mind, anyways. They should’ve taken Dilfer and Holmes out in retaliation.

ELCAraiderfan wrote: Mon Nov 03, 2025 2:41 am As much as I hated that fcking fat asses blatant cheap shot of gannon what you say was Al's philosphy of the other teams qb going down hard. i know first 5 minutes but whatever other team qb down hard all game.

However what I can not forgive is the Raider team of that day DID NOT A DAMN THING to even the score by blowing out fatgussas's knees. That had to be done no matter the cost and that Raiders team and coach did nothing. I can not forgive that and never have.

I could tell right away that we were overmatched. I think a healthy Napoleon Kaufman may have made a difference, he didn't have that great of a season but his speed could have "stolen" some big gains. What pissed me off was Gruden thinking he could go run heavy. That team did lead the NFL in rushing but a big part of that were the yards Gannon gained on broken plays or opportune runs. The Raven's employed a spy and took that dimension away from our offense.

Gruden was clearly out coached. Al knew it.

Only way we were going to win was if we made it a FG exchange with Lechler making them work for it. Once Sharpe broke that long TD it was over.

Willmark wrote: Mon Nov 03, 2025 4:02 am Tried a few AI song platforms. As I suspected there are built in guards to protect song copyright. Meaning it won’t generate the vocals to the tune of American Pie.

I will hunt around, there are enough songs out there that are doing just that to know someone has a platform to get it done. I was just listening to Mr Rogers singing "Won't You Be My Neighbor" to the song "House Of The Rising Son"