The signs at both entrances at the erstwhile Celebrity Sports Center in Denver made it clear: No Oakland Raider paraphernalia.<\/p>\n
Did the center management ban caps and jerseys touting the San Diego Chargers or Seattle Seahawks, at the time rivals of the Denver Broncos?<\/p>\n
Now I say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153erstwhile\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because it used to be called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Celebrity,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and as I recall, traded that word for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Family,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and now, who knows? The massive entertainment center on Colorado Boulevard might not even exist anymore, but the sentiment still wafts.<\/p>\n
Let me explain:<\/p>\n
The center was a draw for families. When my three sons were younger \u00e2\u20ac\u201d long before the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153chip\u00e2\u20ac\u009d made everything computerized \u00e2\u20ac\u201d we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d drive to Denver twice a year, where all of us (except my wife Bonnie, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d spend her time reading some Victorian novel), would break loose. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d score higher than Obama on any of the 40 bowling lanes. But most of all, we liked the hands-on feel of holding a real basketball or tossing a series of wooden balls down a small lane in a game called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ski-Bowl.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Remember, that was before the Wii, X-Box or other hand-held video games became standard issue in most families.<\/p>\n
Last week, a full generation later, we took three grandchildren to Missouri for an outing. Master of anything that makes a statement, I recently acquired a low-numbered Highlands University license plate, but because it was lonesome, I got a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Raiders No. 1 Fan\u00e2\u20ac\u009d plate to go in front.<\/p>\n
My grandson and namesake, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s aware that my team has lost its bad-boy, bully reputation since it won its last Super Bowl in the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc80s, asked whether it was wise to be driving a car with a Raiders plate in a state like Missouri, where Kansas City Chiefs fans consider the Raiders chopped liver, or worse, menudo.<\/p>\n
Truth be told, I thought about that, even wondering whether a couple of strips of broad opaque tape would conceal my team preference. One thing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s for sure: My car would have been in grave danger had I taken it, with plate, to Denver, where being a Raider-Hater is a way of life.<\/p>\n
We spent several days in Missouri, without incident, although I admit parking the car in ways that made the Raider plate less conspicuous.<\/p>\n
Nothing happened to my plate or car. That bit of (in)action reminded me of the Vietnam-era movie, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What if They Gave a War and Nobody Came?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Was I looking for trouble, expecting someone to take umbrage at the Raider plate? Or it could be as my e-mail friend Ben Moffett says about my team: They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lost their tough-guy mystique.<\/p>\n
He explains, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better to forget the Oakland Raiders. The wrong-side-of-the-tracks team you and I loved because they were hated, sadly no longer exists.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Give up my Raiders and become what? A Dallas fan? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d rather stick my nostrils together with Crazy Glue.<\/p>\n
But Ben is right. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re pitied a lot but not hated as much as in the past. A supreme put-down often involved the Raiders. Remember Karnac the Magnificent, the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153seer\u00e2\u20ac\u009d aka Johnny Carson, who could provide answers to questions not yet asked? If he got jeered or if an answer failed to get any audience reaction, Karnac would issue a general insult. One was, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153May your only son lose his life\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s savings in a yak palimony suit.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
The best, in my mind, dealt with the team I love, the Raiders. Karnac said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153May you enter your wife\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bathroom and discover 50 toothbrushes, all belonging to different members of the Oakland Raiders.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n
Rivalries are fine, but fans cross the line when they put down youngsters. The annual Punt, Pass and Kick competition, open to teens, gives young ones their 60 seconds of fame, where they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re introduced to a national audience.<\/p>\n
But invariably, some boorish people in the stands who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t happen to like the team that sponsors one of the winners razz the children.<\/p>\n
Last year, 14-year-old Amy Grant, a freshman from New Hampshire, brought out the boo-birds, solely because she wore the jersey of her sponsors, the New England Patriots. Some Pats-hating Indianapolis Colts fans jeered the young girl.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sad that fan(atics) find it even tolerable to boo and hoot at youngsters. For that matter, why should anyone boo anyone anyway? To her credit, Amy disarmed the booers by just smiling and remaining calm through the ceremony.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a2 \u00e2\u20ac\u00a2<\/p>\n
Does the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153petty\u00e2\u20ac\u009d come to mind, in light of the decision of Las Vegas Fiesta members to halve the $500 scholarship awarded to Carmela Montoya, the 2009 crowned fiesta queen? The rationale for awarding only half of the already-paltry amount? They claim she failed to participate in all the events expected of royalty.<\/p>\n
I believe the move is punitive. Her reasons for not being able to participate in every event are detailed in Monday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Optic. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not as if throngs of girls were vying for the award.<\/p>\n
The $250 just might buy Carmela a couple of books at the college bookstore. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s remember this is not the 1950s, when $500 would pay for a year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tuition, fees and books. Maybe some reader will pitch in the $250 so Carmela doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to struggle so much.<\/p>\n
Wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it be great?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The signs at both entrances at the erstwhile Celebrity Sports Center in Denver made it clear: No Oakland Raider paraphernalia. Did the center management ban caps and jerseys touting the San Diego Chargers or Seattle Seahawks, at the time rivals of the Denver Broncos? Now I say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153erstwhile\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because it used to be called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Celebrity,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=629"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":632,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629\/revisions\/632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rezio.net\/woa\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}