Dear Cowboys Fan

In a Raiders chatroom yesterday, a Cowboys fan wrote that he has tickets to the upcoming game. He is wondering if he would be "committing suicide" by showing up in a Cowboys jersey, and if he should wear black as a disguise. Following is my take, which applies to fans of any visiting team:

You can wear the Cowboys jersey, just don't act like an idiot. I mean that with all due respect. Not because I assume that you're an idiot, but because I've seen too many of the opposing team's fans strut into the Coliseum and paint a target on their back. They stand up in front of Raiders fans and do a jig when our QB is sacked, make a bunch of obnoxious noise when our crowd has been silenced, etc. Don't tell me no one is that stupid. I've seen it. These are the folks who are asking for trouble, which can be found in any crowd of 50,000 people.

Raiders fans are vocal and passionate, but they are not the criminals they've been made out to be (see my I Love Al Davis take for more thoughts on that subject). They are typically hard-working regular folks who love to have a good time on Sunday afternoon. This will include giving you an earful of creative and heartfelt insults for wearing your Cowboys gear. Enjoy it, because it's all in good fun.

Or, try this...Leave the Cowboys gear at home, go as a neutral participant, and keep an open mind. I'll bet that, by the time you walk out of the Coliseum, you may wish you belonged to the Raider Nation, because of the intensity, passion and uniqueness of the experience. And if you get that feeling, then welcome, brother, to the Raider Nation, because the door is always open. You never really liked the Cowboys in the first place, right?