NFL, Davis Sacrifice Raiders Pivotal Home Game
Looking at the 2017 opponent schedule, one thought jumps out: What a slap in the face. There’s no other way to explain the NFL scheduling the Patriots/Raiders game in Mexico City. The marquee (and most exciting) home game in 2017 isn’t at a raucous O.co Coliseum. Instead, a boisterous and laser pointer-wielding group in Estadio Azteca welcomes New England and the Silver and Black. To put it another way: the NFL continues to toy with Bay Area Raider fans.
Owner Mark Davis appeared pleased with giving up yet another home game.
Be that as it may, this isn’t a knock on Mexico. The turnout for the Raiders’ win over the Houston Texans definitely caught the eye of the league. Azteca filled with Raider-clad fans and the Silver and Black Renaissance is a great headline. Yet, season ticketholders get the short end of the stick. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell could not ignore the sellout crowd of 76,473.
However, for the league to ignore Raider faithful in Oakland insults thousands. This game screams Oakland and Oakland alone. The fans that pay good money for not only season tickets but the single-game experience deserve the game to be played at home. In addition, the cloud of relocation hovers. One point often overlooked is the favor system used in the NFL. Namely, if the Raiders sacrifice a home game, will fellow owners deliver a favorable relocation vote?
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On the surface, it’s another great venture for the NFL to become more global. Yet, the Raiders already maintain a worldwide brand. With that said, these international games look part of an exodus Davis and Co. will engineer from Oakland all together. Whether it’s a huge victory over the defending champs or a disheartening defeat to a storied franchise, the story needed to play out at O.co. If both teams are playing well when they play, this won’t endear Davis to RaiderNation.
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