"The autumn wind is a pirate."

This is a little belated, but I had the pleasure of attending my first ever Raiders game the other week. I say "pleasure," but actually I was scared shitless. I'm from Packers country, which is about as die-hard as you can get—but Raiders fans have always frightened me. All that black! All those huge trucks! All those mullets! We arrived early to tailgate and I got right down to drinking. If everyone around me was going to get scary and out of control, I was going to get there first, dammit.

Turns out, it's all hype. Raiders fans are gentle as kittens. In fact, by 10 A.M., I was far more obnoxious than the other tailgaters around us (I win!), such as Chains, with whom I am pictured here:



Seriously, I think he was a little bit freaked out by me. Me!

The game itself was maybe not quite as fun. We lost to the Lions, which I hear is the worst team in the NFL. And watching a game in the Oakland Coliseum is like watching a game in a blast furnace. I don't know how it gets so hot in there. But there was great people watching to be had. See below:




And then there's the stuff that just generally reminds you you're in Oakland: