The Raiders abandoned a rabid fan base when they moved from Oakland to one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world, but owner Mark Davis was apparently expecting more support by now in his team’s new city.
A former Raiders executive told Outkick’s Jason Cole last week that Davis has grown frustrated with the amount of visiting fans who have flooded Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Davis was said to be angry when there seemed to be more Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs fans than Raiders fans in attendance when Las Vegas hosted the two teams last season.
The lack of support from “home” fans is one reason Davis is reportedly planning to be aggressive in trying to lure Tom Brady to Las Vegas.
“Mark is embarrassed,” the former Raiders executive told Cole. “He was pis–d last year when the Chiefs and Bears brought so many fans to town. Now it’s happening every week. He wants it to stop. He wanted Brady before when Jon Gruden finally turned it down and now, he wants Brady again. Mark thinks having McDaniels is going to be the key.”
What did Davis expect? Vegas is a tourist destination. Disappointing play was a factor this season in the lack of support for the Raiders, but the location of the team has more to do with that than the 6-11 record. The Raiders were never going to be met with the same type of enthusiasm in Las Vegas that they had in Oakland.
Signing Brady would certainly lead to more hype surrounding the Raiders. Though, a recent report indicated that not everyone in the organization is in favor of the move.
