The Magicians

By Raider Nate 75

I remember as a young kid, my dad was always freaking me out. One of his favorites was the "look I can pull my thumb off at the knuckle" hand trick. We've all seen it, and we've probably done it.

When he first married my mom, they had cabinets above their closet, and he would hide in these cabinets and jump down and scare the bejesus out of her. Yes, they're still married.

When I was seven, they took me to see a magician who did all of the classic tricks. Sawing a woman in half, making things disappear and reappear, card tricks, etc. I was amazed by all of this. Why? Because I could not understand that they were “tricks.” In my mind, it was real. At such a young age, what I perceived and saw was real, and I was too young to wrap my mind around the idea that it was staged, and that the magician wasn't really sawing the lady in half. My argument was, "What do you mean it wasn't real? I saw it with my own eyes."

I could understand movies being fake, because I went to Universal Studios a lot as a kid, and we would see stunt shows, and they would talk about the tricks they use on camera; but what I was seeing on stage with the magician was live, not on film. My parents would argue and argue and argue with me endlessly on the subject; but they couldn't get me to believe that it was fake because: a) I saw it with my own eyes; and b) they couldn't replicate the trick, or show me how it was done.

So what's the point of all of this? To me, this is what is going on with the Raiders this offseason. As has been mentioned, Lane Kiffin has not been seen by the media since the Combine. But as well, neither has Al Davis. All we have heard, and continue to hear, is how Lane is going to lose his job, and is going to lose it soon. This rumor has been printed over and over since January.

The media have been backtracking on their story that he was going to be fired before the Senior Bowl, and then Combine; and now it's the Draft. After that, it will be, "he is gone before camps." Some writers have already trumped everything in between, and said the blanket statement, "He will be gone before the next season." This is despite the fact that Lane (at the Senior Bowl), Caveman, and the Raiders' PR spokesman denying these rumors. Let's not forget, too, that Caveman was going to be fired; and that rumor started the Monday after the regular season ended!

This has left the Nation in an uproar of questions. Is this a smokescreen? Is it the truth? I'd normally believe it to be a smokescreen, but now local trusted writers are writing these rumors. I know I can't convince some of you that this is all staged, and a "magician's trick." What you perceive is what you believe, and what I perceive is what I believe as well. This is why I think it is a trick; all of these stories are based on "perception" and there is little facts to these things that we know. What's going on? Let's look at the facts:

1. The rumors of Kiffin's demise are still largely printed. They are rumors because nobody in the Raiders' organization is denying nor confirming these stories. They have in the recent month or so, but not since before the Combine.

2. Kiffin, Rob Ryan, James Lofton, Al Davis, Amy Trask, Tom Jackson, and Tom Cable are all still on the team page.

3. Nobody has seen or heard from Lane Kiffin or Al Davis since the Combine (and the comments by both were the same, "No comment").

4. For that matter, nobody has seen Rob Ryan since the Combine!

5. Kiffin interviewed Lofton, and was hired by Al Davis.

6. We don't know if Al and Lane were at the free agent signings we have made.

7. We don't know if Al and Lane are even involved in the negotiations; or just involved at the "approval" level.

8. We know that Lane is at the headquarters every day

9. We don't know what he is doing at the headquarters every day, but it is speculated he is throwing chairs in anger.

10. My guess is as good as your guess.

These are the facts that we know this offseason. They’re pretty broad. There is not one editor alive that is going to allow a story to be printed where the basis of these facts are the headlines. If the reporters, even the local reporters, were to print the headline "Nobody Knows What is Happening Inside the Raiders Organization," then all they are showing is they have failed their jobs, and their credibility as a "team reporter" becomes no better than yours or mine.

So they write stories with phrases like, "an inside source who chose to remain anonymous" or "someone close to the team with knowledge" or "an anonymous source close to the situation.” Again, all of these stories are based on perception, just like a magician.

Do I like what's going on? No. I think it is dividing the fan base, and I think it is hurting their image of “change.” I don't think it would be a big deal if we were winning, but we are not winning. I feel that these illusions of turmoil from within damage the overall image that we know where we are going and how we are going to get there. It creates doubt in the hope that we as fans have in a return to glory.

But I can't help to think of the immortal words of my dad when I was five: "Hey son, look at this. I can pull my thumb off at my knuckle."