If Monday night’s game was the last one the Raiders ever play at the Coliseum, at least their fans got a chance to say their proper goodbyes.
That wasn’t the case 37 years ago, when a federal court jury’s ruling in the off-season allowed the Raiders to move to Los Angeles, breaking a lot of hearts in the East Bay.
Including mine.
That’s because the first time the Raiders abandoned Oakland it cost me the most wonderfully unique $35-per-day job ever created for a kid.
The uncertainty surrounding the team’s fate while they were beating the Broncos 27-14 Monday was eerily similar to their last home game against the Bears in 1981, when I was one of the Raiders’ visiting team ballboys.