MNF

This was the fourth season in a row that Maggie and I have gone to the Broncos / Raiders game at the Oakland Coliseum. Each year has been completely different - but this year promised to be even bigger and badder, as it was opening day for the Raiders, and a Monday Night game to boot. I had never been to a MNF game before and was a bit apprehensive. I knew the fans would be extremely jazzed up for the game. Before it started, Maggie and I walked around the tailgate parties a bit and we saw both sides of things - ranging from people wanting their pictures taken with us, to some folks throwing trash in our general direction. Nothing made us too uncomfortable - we tend to be pretty good sports about everything and keep the mood light hearted. We did notice that there were WAY fewer Broncos fans there this year than in years past. Not sure if this is because they were all in hiding or if the hype surrounding the game just meant that the tickets were all snapped up by the Raiders faithful before anyone else could get them. Below is a picture of the parking lot as we left - you can see the mounds of trash that are left by the fans who had been tailgating for 8+ hours before the game.
Once in the stadium, we found our seats (third level in the corner - still cost upwards of $60 a ticket!) and started to "get to know" our neighbors. This is always a precarious time in these games - good natured neighbors lead to an enjoyable, banter-filled game for all. We had some fun folks around us this time and they hadn't been drinking nearly as much as our neighbors from last season which was definitely a good thing.

The Broncos started off on a tear - the Raiders never really even had a chance in this game. We saw some great plays by Broncos rookie Eddie Royal and RB Andre Hall - both Maggie and I vowed to try to pick them up in our fantasy leagues. Final score was 41-14 but it was even more lopsided than that looks, because the Raiders got a touchdown in garbage time at the end of the game. It was a relief to come away with a big victory - both as a promising start to the season for the Broncos, and also because Raiders fans are a lot less fiesty and belligerent when they lose. Overall, it wasn't nearly as rowdy and "different" from prior seasons as I expected it to be. We had a wonderful time, as always - and are optimistic about this season for the (now) 4-1 Broncs!