From reading reactions to my last column about rivalries, it is clear that most football fans don’t realize the extent of the San Francisco 49er and Oakland Raider rivalry. Now, I am not saying that it is the top-ranked rivalry in the NFL, or even close to it, but would like to shed some light on the under-the-radar bitterness between the two teams.
Like with most great rivalries, there is unfathomable love for one team and absolute despisement for the other. Included is the 49er faithful fans and the Raider Nation fans, most of which live in close proximity to one another in the breathtaking Bay Area of Northern California.
And by close, I mean Oakland is a mere 12 miles across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco.
Yet even closer are the friends, the neighbors, (heck, the wives and husbands!) that reside all over the Bay Area. While it is true that one is more likely to find clumps of Raider fans in east bay towns like Richmond, Danville, and Vallejo, there are just as many diehard fans supporting the maroon and gold in the north/ south bay, like in San Mateo, Palo Alto, and Santa Clara.
Yet some areas sport mixed loyalties, and here is where you find a majority of the heated rivalries. Take San Jose, for instance. Located in the south bay (so, geographically speaking, 49er territory), San Jose is home to a plethora of proud Raider fans.
The 49ers are currently in the progress for building a new stadium in Santa Clara. While suggestions for a name change for the 49ers has been discounted, I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of the “Silicon Valley 49ers.” Ladies and Gentlemen, we now have the nerds of the NFL.
One hardly ever sees Niner jerseys (especially in the era after Rice, Young, and Montana) on fans outside of Monster Park compared to the common sighting of a Raider's jersey.
Yet both teams share a similarity; the fans have an unwavering loyalty to their team despite disappointing seasons. Both bay area teams failed to make the playoffs this season, but the true supporters in Northern California never leave their teams behind.
Locals joke that you don’t want to be in Oakland when they lose; Raider fans storm the streets, angry, and looking for cars to smash and mayhem to cause. You don’t want to be in Oakland when the team wins either, for fans smash beer bottles and break things in happy celebration.
While this Bay Area rivalry may not get the national attention or credit it deserves, the fans on both sides do their part to ensure bitter loathing for each respective team. Many outsiders would argue that the teams don’t even play in the same conferences (AFC West for Oakland; NFC West for San Francisco) so they couldn’t be as big of rivals compared to other NFL teams.
Yet the lack of games between the two ensures a big turnout and local press coverage when the teams finally do play each other. The built up tension carried over from year to year can end in a boastful play or an embarrassing loss on either side.
The Raiders currently win the series 6-5, and the teams have yet to play each other on the road to the national title. The rivalry stems from 1970, when the SF Niners dominated the turf to clinch the NFC West Title (their first).
The Raiders had a brief stint in Los Angeles, CA, and many fans in LA still consider themselves part of the Raider Nation, especially because LA lacks an NFL team. For fans in LA, many would point to the San Diego Chargers as their main rival (due to proximity factors). This rivalry is more well known to NFL fans, possibly due to conference ties. However, for Oakland-based fans, the San Francisco 49ers would most likely be their most hated team.
Superbowl XXXVII in 2003, was a big deal for Northern California football fans. It had been 8 years since a Bay Area team was in the big game (SF in 1995, who beat the Chargers) and both Niner and Raider fans were geared up for Superbowl Sunday.
I was at a watching party in Santa Clara, with a considerable amount of San Francisco and Oakland fans. The San Francisco fans wanted nothing more than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to slaughter the Raiders, while all the Oakland fans (decked out in silver and black gear, of course) were shouting and booing at the TV screen whenever appropriate.
I, at one point, asked the Niners fans in the room why they didn’t want to root for the Raiders. “It’s all in the Bay Area anyway…” Dead silence, a couple eye-rolls, and snickers were the quick reply.
The Niners fans were so passionate about the Raiders losing (just because they were 49ers fans) that they would have rooted for any other team in the Superbowl- the Seahawks, the Cowboys, the Rams, (insert any 49er rival team here).
If you want to make peace with fans in the Bay Area, try some sport other than football. Luckily, there is a variety to choose from in the area. The San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics baseball teams are not notably heated rivalries, and the whole bay can share in the glory of the Golden State Warriors basketball team.
I passed a quite memorable bus stop advertisement years ago. It read, “No Nation is strong enough to defeat the Faithful.” If that doesn’t scream RIVALRY! Quite frankly, I don’t know what else would.
