One of the guys from
PokerTek is stuck out in Vegas for our entire field trial, and he's a Carolina Panthers season-ticket holder. Last week we got the bright idea to catch the Panthers' game in Oakland.
I got my brother Noel to let us crash at his place, and he also offered to drive and do his normal masterful job of tailgating for us. Then my friend PJ offered to get us some complimentary tickets to the game. When Henk, the alcoholic Ashley to my muddled Mary Kate, agreed to ride along, we had the makings of a road trip.
Then a couple of, uh, developments occurred:
- Panther Fan couldn't get a 48-hour pass from work.
- PJ, who apparently has as much pull as this lady, couldn't get the tickets.
Henk and I, undaunted, braved the long Saturday morning drive, and used my IPhone to secure tickets from StubHub while driving over the Tehachapi pass. Noel got his co-worker and roofer extraordinaire Cory to take the fourth seat, and we had a party.
Henk and I arrived on Saturday afternoon, and Noel, Kim & Lindsey made us an awesome Mexican dinner, replete with margaritas. Henk and I then went into The City to see his brother Jan, which we did for all of ten minutes before Jan headed for a poker room. He invited us, but the last thing I wanted to do on my day off was play poker. So Henk and I hit a few bars before hopping the last BART back to Pleasanton.
Sunday morning we woke up bright and early, loaded up Noel's motorhome and headed for Oakland. After stopping at a hotel to pick up the tickets, and a few circles around the stadium looking for the Mysterious Entrance For RV Parking (sister property to the Lost City Of Atlantis), we pulled into the back parking lot at the Coliseum and commenced a-partyin'.
A couple of observations before more photographic evidence:
- Raider fans know how to party. They start showing up at five hours before a three-hour game. They bring a ton of people, food and beer. And, at least until kickoff, everybody is in a great, friendly mood. The folks using the pimped-out RV next to Noel's gave us barbecued clams, jello shots, and offered us everything and anything they had.
- Raider fans deserve a great party, because nobody hates his customers more than Al Davis. The Raiders charge exorbitant prices for parking and tickets, and insist on fielding the most inept professional team in sports. People don't mind overpaying, but the bad teams are taking their toll on the Raider Nation spirit. There are many theories about why the Raiders are so bad, but here's mine: Davis runs the franchise the same way Shrub ran the country. If it's Davis's idea, then, by definition, it is the right (and legal) thing to do because it's his idea. So, if anyone disagrees with him, he goes the way of Lane Kiffin or Paul O'Neill, whether it's warranted or not. I've always accepted that in order to be successful in any endeavor, one should surround himself with people that are smarter than you are. Davis thinks that no one like that exists. In the meantime, he still insists on hanging "Commitment To Excellence" banners while the team hasn't won more than five games in a season since 2002.
- Seven hours from Vegas to Tracy (506 miles). That's hauling ass.
Check out this sweet ride. 22 feet long, equipped with a full kitchen and bedroom, and a plasma TV popping out from the side, hooked up to a satellite dish. This? Is not Noel's RV.
This is Noel's RV, named (by the owner) The Rolling Turd. Henk (pictured above, on the right) re-christened it the slightly hipper "RT-88". Noel discourages anybody from looking at it because he's afraid someone might actually see it rusting away. It's actually not that bad, although I kept a worried eye on the temperature gauge over Noel's shoulder as we chugged over the Altamont pass. We didn't really get much abuse from the regulars about the RT-88.
On the other hand, they were
merciless about these chairs.
Great seats, huh? Front row of the second deck. We got them for a third of the face-value, which makes its own statement about the condition the Raiders' condition is in. Please note the beautiful blue sky. It was a perfect day.
And then the game started. Raider Johnnie Lee Higgins fumbled the opening kickoff, and it was pretty much downhill from there. It's not like the Panthers were great, either. The two teams combined for 39 incomplete passes, six interceptions, five fumbles and 20 punts en route to a 17-6 "victory" for the Panthers. As
Gregg Easterbrook said today, if there's a sports bar in Hell, this game is playing on a continuous loop.
On the other hand, the Raiderettes don't do anything wrong. They are perfect.
I don't know if this picture does it justice, but at the end of the third quarter, Local 1042 of the Seagulls Union held a membership meeting in the sky above the stadium. I thought I was in a Hitchcock movie. If you look closely you can see them perched on the scoreboard. I've been to dozens of A's games and I don't remember ever seeing anything like this.
After the game, we all got back on the RT-88 and rolled back to Tracy, and Henk and I made the long return back to the desert. The whole trip took just under 42 hours.
Despite the disappointing result of the game, we had a great time. Thanks to Noel & Kim for taking us in, feeding us and taking us to the game. Also, thanks to Cory, for helping Noel with Mom's roof, cooking the tailgate dinner (the traditional Peterson game menu of linguica and sausuges) and teaching Noel the words to "A Lap Dance Is So Much Better When The Stripper Is Crying". (It's a love song.)
Once more for the Raiderettes: I hated to see them go, but I loved to watch them walk away.
Check out this sweet ride. 22 feet long, equipped with a full kitchen and bedroom, and a plasma TV popping out from the side, hooked up to a satellite dish. This? Is not Noel's RV.
This is Noel's RV, named (by the owner) The Rolling Turd. Henk (pictured above, on the right) re-christened it the slightly hipper "RT-88". Noel discourages anybody from looking at it because he's afraid someone might actually see it rusting away. It's actually not that bad, although I kept a worried eye on the temperature gauge over Noel's shoulder as we chugged over the Altamont pass. We didn't really get much abuse from the regulars about the RT-88.
On the other hand, they were merciless about these chairs.
Great seats, huh? Front row of the second deck. We got them for a third of the face-value, which makes its own statement about the condition the Raiders' condition is in. Please note the beautiful blue sky. It was a perfect day.
And then the game started. Raider Johnnie Lee Higgins fumbled the opening kickoff, and it was pretty much downhill from there. It's not like the Panthers were great, either. The two teams combined for 39 incomplete passes, six interceptions, five fumbles and 20 punts en route to a 17-6 "victory" for the Panthers. As Gregg Easterbrook said today, if there's a sports bar in Hell, this game is playing on a continuous loop.
On the other hand, the Raiderettes don't do anything wrong. They are perfect.
I don't know if this picture does it justice, but at the end of the third quarter, Local 1042 of the Seagulls Union held a membership meeting in the sky above the stadium. I thought I was in a Hitchcock movie. If you look closely you can see them perched on the scoreboard. I've been to dozens of A's games and I don't remember ever seeing anything like this.
Once more for the Raiderettes: I hated to see them go, but I loved to watch them walk away.
The majority leader obviously views this blahg as a critical point of reference on the political scene and has bowed to my wishes. Keep listening to me, Senator. We'll have universal health care before you know it.
