LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Raiders are set to enter their fifth season in Las Vegas with the third head coach, general manager combo since the team moved from Oakland in 2020. Antonio Pierce and Tom Telesco lead the Silver And Black into a new era.
Eight or nine times a year, NFL fandom in Las Vegas has been put under a microscope for Raiders home games. The crowd at Allegiant Stadium has been known to be heavily made up of fans of opposing teams, especially fanbases known to travel well.
Once based in Oakland and Los Angeles, the Raiders have a strong following across California. While Raider Nation is known to span the country, the fanbase has especially needed to expand into the desert upon the team's relocation to Las Vegas.
The organization has made strides in growing support across the Las Vegas valley, building roots through recognizing high school programs and contributions to local non-profit efforts. However, with one winning season to the Raiders' name since moving in 2020, there is still work to be done for the team to capture the hearts of southern Nevadans.
I spoke to members of "The Black Hole," the Raiders' well-known rabid fan group, to hear how they've seen local fandom evolve since they moved to Las Vegas.
“The energy gets better every year," Mike Casper, nicknamed Casper, said. "More and more fans coming here, it’s turning around. It’s a great thing.”
“I think it’s amazing," Mickey Lavita, nicknamed Raider X, said. "I work out in the communities and I’ve been here almost as long as the team has been here and I can see with the families, the children, the kids, the Raiders working with the communities, it’s growing. The kids will see me with my Raiders hat or my Raiders gear and they’re like ‘Raaiiiiiiiiiiiders’ and I’m getting fist bumps from the kids. I see them wearing more jerseys and more T-shirts. They’ll even write the numbers in like Davante Adams or Maxx Crosby with markers and stuff. It’s growing.”
"Um, it’s been rough," Cisco Ortega, nicknamed Cisco Kid, said. "Everybody’s been watching the games. There’s a lot of, unfortunately, red in the audience, in the stands. There was a lot of purple in the stands for the Vikings game. It’s somewhat embarrassing. However, we got to put a good product on the field. Winning changes everything. The team starts to win and people are going to come.”
“There’s always the comparison of Oakland and Vegas and the fanbase and the tailgates and how the atmosphere and environment is," Santini Sanchez, nicknamed Santi, said. "But that’s history and it takes time. The Raiders were in Oakland since 1960. That’s a lot of years to build up. Vegas is a totally different city but I think it’s growing. We’re Raider Nation and we’re a nation. It’ll keep growing. We travel well. I’m from Denver, Colorado and I’m out here. I love the Raiders and I’ll go wherever they go.”
“I’ve been a Raiders fan since I was 13. It’s been very interesting to watch the fanbase in Las Vegas grow and help find their identity," Patricia McGaffigan, nicknamed The Maskaraider, said. "I think once the team becomes more cohesive, with the coach and the spirit and our legacy starts to come alive, I think it’ll be a great thing. The fanbase here in Las Vegas, they’re starting to come out a little bit more because they’re starting to engage the team. But some of the newer fans, they’re learning football and it’s exciting to share some of those legacies from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s."
She said more opposing fans at Allegiant Stadium goes back to the fact that "we're not the core or the prime jewel of Las Vegas."
"We’re another event for folks who visit Las Vegas to come to a football game. The opposing fans, it’s a vacation for them. They plan a long weekend, they come on out, and there’s some teams that travel very well. The Raiders travel better than most so they will come out in droves. You also have the marketing campaigns from the hotels and various hospitality industries reaching out to the out-of-state or non-Raider Nation fanbases. So I think the way we can represent a little bit better, Raider Nation, is to come out, wear your black and silver, and be ready to kick some booty.”
