Sixteen years ago, to stoke a fire that for decades raged between the Raiders and Broncos.
“Do you know what it’s like to really hate someone?” Jackson said, staring into the camera with his signature glasses and black Kangol hat. “I mean REALLY hate ’em, with a passion, a fury, a vengeance? You know what I’m talking about? Well these guys do.”
His voice grows deeper as clips of the divisional rivals, each shoving and growling in disdain, flash across the screen.
“The Raiders and Broncos,” Jackson continues. “They can’t stand each other, like good hates evil. And evil hates good.”
That promo aired before the teams’ Monday night meeting in 2003, in Denver. The Raiders entered the game 1-1 on the heels of a loss and their third consecutive playoff appearance.
They would get walloped that Monday, finish the season 4-12, and spend 10 of the next 12 seasons under .500 while failing to return to the postseason. The Broncos-Raiders rivalry of old that — as Jackson dramatically acknowledged — included shared coaches and players, comebacks, upsets, playoff battles and fights lost its luster. Raider Nation and apountry remained loyal to their teams, but the rivalry dimmed.
This season has a chance to be different.
It has a chance because the Raiders are winning under former Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, and now sit with the Denver atop the AFC West.
“The reality is we’re relevant because we’ve earned it,” Del Rio said.”We’re 6-2, we’re in the conversation because we’ve had a good first half of the season and we look forward. We’ve got a really good division.”
It has a chance because the Raiders have a top-four passing offense and the Broncos have the game’s best passing defense.
“I’ve been a part of it forever,” said Broncos coach . “I’ve been a part of it in the Coliseum in front of 100,000 people. Itap always been a great matchup and obviously playing twice a year makes it even bigger. Thatap whatap fun about this league. Two 6-2 teams going at it on Sunday night in a tough place to play. Thatap why you coach and why you play.”
It has a chance because the hate has been renewed, by words and by circumstance.
“I just don’t like them,” said safety , a Bay Area native who grew up a 49ers fan. “They’re from Oakland. I just don’t like the Raiders. I couldn’t even tell you. Itap probably something thatap bred in me, probably because I had a lot of friends that are Raider fans and we used to just argue all the time.”
Of course, this is where Jackson would chime in, full fury as the camera zooms in and out on his face, and yells: “There are Raiders, there are Broncos, there’s an enclosed space, there’s piles and piles of hate and there’s YOU! So I ask you: Are you ready for some football?!”
Welcome (back) to Raider Week.
