LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's no secret that Raider Nation is packed with Latino fans, here in America and even in Mexico where they have their own name for the team, Los Malosos, which is Spanish for "the mean ones".
The question is when did this love start?
The answer goes all the way back to the origins of the team but also because of two Latinos who catapulted the popularity of the team among the Hispanic community and their legacy is still felt even today.
When the team was founded in 1960, the original name was actually supposed to be the Oakland Señors, as a tribute to California's Spanish settler roots. However, after nine days, people around Oakland started hating the name so the team decided to change it one more time to the name we all know and love, the Raiders. Latinos during those first years took notice and started to cheer for the, at the time, gold and black.
However, one of the biggest reasons why so many Latinos call the Raiders their team stems from the success of Tom Flores and Jim Plunkett, two fellow Latinos who were trailblazers in football.
"You look at the history of the team and Jim Plunkett and Tom Flores, on the Hispanic side. Art Shell, when you talk about African-Americans. It's all over the place and they've opened the doors when other franchises didn't," Spanish play-by-play announcer Harry Ruiz said.
Flores was the Raiders' first quarterback in 1960 and the first Latino quarterback to ever play in the NFL. After his playing career, he decided to take up coaching and would go on to be the NFL's first-ever Hispanic head coach and the first minority head coach to win a Super Bowl.
His man under center was Plunkett who said Flores had a deep impact in his life both on and off the field.
"He was one of the coolest individuals you want to be around despite what was going on around him. I think some of that rubbed off on me," Plunkett said. "Go out there, call your play, and be comfortable in who you are and what you're about to do and go out there and do it. I owe a lot of gratitude to Coach Flores and the way he made me feel in the football field."
Plunkett is also a man of many firsts.
He is the first Hispanic to have won the Heisman trophy and the first and only Hispanic to be selected number one overall in the NFL Draft. He was also the first Latino quarterback to play in a Super Bowl and win the MVP award, all accomplishments that are celebrated to this day.
"I think it was a great feeling for the Hispanic community," Plunkett said. "Coach Flores and I are very proud of our background, our heritage. That's not what made us good at what we did but we were certainly proud that we were Hispanic and being able to do this where there were so few other Hispanics in professional football."
