The Next Hour

I feel like an absentee landlord who isn’t taking care of the building, and who is thankful that the tenants aren’t pulling the plumbing out of the walls in protest. Thanks to everyone who is keeping the lights on while I abdicate my responsibilities.

Life is good, and so is my health, but I've decided to pursue a more rigorous diet. My concerns are genetic in nature, and unrelated to chronic exposure to Jerry Porter and Barry Sims, or to radioactive traces of LaMont Jordan. So I’m watching my salt and my caffeine and everything else besides oatmeal and leafy greens. No big deal.

Which, oddly enough, brings me to the Raiders. My diet for the team seems to be changing as well.

I’ve gorged on the Raiders here since September of 2005. Now, 425 posts later, my brain has unexpectedly urged me to go on a diet, for the sake of my mental health. So I’ve been playing hooky. I must confess I’ve enjoyed it. I haven’t been paying too much attention to the draft board, and I can’t tell you what Chris Long eats for breakfast or how many tattoos Darren McFadden has, and I must admit that my ignorance has brought a measure of bliss.

Of course, none of this helps my credibility as a Raiders blogger, but I’m just trying to be as honest as possible, because that’s what the regulars here have been with me. I could pretend that I’ve been wearing a Mel Kiper wig and analyzing round six by candlelight, but that’s just not the case.

I’m just flat tuckered out by the drama, the speculation and, quite frankly, the caring. It’s not that I no longer care. I just sent my first payment for season tickets. I’m still totally “in,” as some like to say. I’m just suffering from “care fatigue” at the moment. I’m not sure if you care about any of this, and I certainly understand if you don’t. I just don’t want to let the paint peel without an explanation.

Let’s be honest—this year got off to a terrible start. Lane Kiffin later confirmed the obvious and pretty much admitted to some serious internal issues, which thankfully seem to have settled down. Who’s to blame? Who cares at this point. What’s unavoidable is that we can’t afford to create new issues, because we’re already plagued with issues. The more error, the slimmer the margin for it. It's common sense.

But then the tide started to turn, at least on paper. Terminal scholarships (Porter, Sims, etc.) were terminated. Sure, we overspent on some guys, but it beats not spending at all. There’s no question that the personnel music is being faced, and that new talent and a new attitude are taking root in Oakland.

I heard a guy on ESPN Radio a few weeks ago, saying that the Raiders were the worst franchise in sports after the New York Knicks. Nice analysis. We’re not even the worst franchise in our division—the Chiefs are in the crapper again, and they’ve never really been out of it, have they? When’s the last time the Chiefs did anything significant in the playoffs, the few times they’ve reached them? Unlike the Raiders, I haven’t seen the Broncos or the Chargers in the Super Bowl in the 21^st century, either.

Even as the Raiders rise from the dead, the Haters just can’t help dancing on our alleged grave. This is their hour. The next will be ours.

Anyhow, who cares? I guess I do after all.