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OAKLAND, Calif. –聽It was a nightmare before Christmas for the Broncos. It was Oakland 27, Denver 14.

“I’m ticked off. And I’m embarrassed,” Broncos defensive end said late Monday.

It was the last night at the Black Hole. Bah. Humbug.

Out in the stadium parking lot, drenched in rain and awash in the scent of marijuana, there was a life-sized Darth Raider doll holding the severed head of a plastic Bronco, as a Mariachi trumpeter blared 鈥淎utumn Wind鈥� beneath a home-made banner that declared: 鈥淭he End is Near.”

鈥淚t抖阴ap a little melancholy. It抖阴ap sad and sucky. But let抖阴ap be honest. It won鈥檛 stop us from partying,鈥� said Oakland die-hard Andy Coronado. He pointed to mistletoe hanging from his Raiders cap and added: 鈥淪ometimes it gets me a kiss from a pretty young woman. But it also attracts drunk guys that want to kiss me. Hey, it抖阴ap the risk you take.鈥�

The Broncos visited Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Christmas Eve bearing gifts, the first of which was Isaac Yiadom鈥檚 inability to down a Denver punt near Oakland鈥檚 goal line, a mistake returner boldly picked up and promptly turned into an improbable 99-yard touchdown that staked the home team to a quick 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.

Down in Row 16 of Section 130, a dirty little secret was revealed as Harris scored for Oakland and Vince Gutierrez cheered: There are many Raiders fans living among us in 抖阴apountry.

Gutierrez was raised in Greeley but became an ardent devotee of the Silver and Black because he fell in love with Bo Jackson rather than as a child. How do you define love? Gutierrez made the 1,245-mile pilgrimage from Colorado in order to pay his final respects to the Black Hole, and dragged along a half dozen of his loved ones with him.

鈥淩aiders all day!鈥� declared Gutierrez, the 37-year-old proprietor of Vinny G鈥檚 Barber Shop in Denver. 鈥淲e wanted to do some different for the holidays. And how many people go to the Black Hole for Christmas Eve? Not many.鈥�

Back at the barber shop, clients that bleed orange and blue will no doubt tease Gutierrez he鈥檚 the Vince who Stole Christmas.

鈥淏ut what抖阴ap the best thing about being a Raiders fan in Colorado? Everything,鈥� Gutierrez countered. 鈥淵es, it stinks that this is the last game in Oakland. But as long as they stay the Raiders, the Raiders fan will always be in me.鈥�

With this defeat, Denver’s record dropped to 6-9, assuring a proud franchise of back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1972, when Elway was a 12-year-old son of a coach rather than the general manager in charge of this Broncos mess. It’s all over now except the dismissal of coach .

“If you’re a competitor, when you lose, it … hurts,” said Wolfe, punctuating his pain with a curse word not fit for print on Christmas morning. “If you’re a competitor and you lose, it doesn’t matter if you lose in rock, paper scissors or an NFL football game, it hurts.”

The Raiders are trading Sodom for Gomorrah, leaving their dumpy, run-down digs here for all the sin and splendor of Las Vegas. They can鈥檛 get out of town fast enough, on the heels of a lawsuit filed by the city, and with a new stadium still under construction in Nevada, it’s uncertain where the team will play its home games in 2019.

But if this was the football apocalypse, most fans in Raider Nation were feeling fine, with the pain of their beloved NFL team deserting Oaktown numbed by shots of cognac, as beer bottles clinked with farewell toasts.

鈥淚t breaks my heart. But what are you going to do?鈥� said Tony Valdivia, who serenaded Oakland loyalists with the Raiders fight song on his horn. 鈥淲e all know the Raiders belong in Oakland. Fans don鈥檛 have a say, though. Money talks.鈥�

When the scoreboard clock struck all zeros, a half dozen Oakland fans ran on the field, including one woman who heard screams of approval from the crowd as she was escorted away by security.

“This is an iconic place. It was a privilege to play the last game here. There’s a ton of football history here and a lot of great players have played on this field,” Wolfe said. “But it will be nice to never come back here again.”