Signed Raiders

Signed Raiders

Were the Oakland Raiders and New York Knicks twins separated at birth?

There are as many differences as there are similarities between the cities of Oakland and New York.  You’d never confuse one for the other, but both are known for passionate hard workers in there own way.  Just as with the fans of the Raiders and Knicks are different, but similar.  The Raiders fans in all their studded leather screaming obscenities at the other team and the Knicks fans in their business suits yelling obscenities at, well anyone.  Both teams’ fans are among the most loyal and passionate in all of sports.  Unfortunately for them both the similarities don’t end there.

 The Raiders once dominated the NFL with titles in 1983, 1980, 1976 and countless playoff appearances.  The Knicks a bit earlier won titles in 1973 and 1970 while being a playoff regular.  Both made brief runs back near the top with the Raiders getting blown out in the 2002 Super Bowl and the Knicks losing in the NBA Championship Series in 1999 and 1994.  Now however, both teams are among the most disgraced in their league.  The Raiders have not even been back to the playoffs since their 2002 Super Bowl embarrassment and the Knicks haven’t been back since a 1st round loss in 2001. 

 It goes beyond losing though.  Long-term success is built through the draft and smart trades.  Going all the way back to 1995 the Knicks have drafted a total of 3 players that have done anything in the league.  David Lee, who is a quality player currently for the Knicks, Trevor Ariza who just won a title in a semi-starring role for the Lakers and Nene, who played well in the playoffs for the Nuggets.  We are talking nearly 15 years and only one player that did anything semi-noteworthy for the Knicks!  Oh and the number of franchise destroying trades and signings is too long to even get into, but lets just sum it up with the name Jerome James.  Thank you Isiah Thomas.

 While the Raiders fortunately aren’t as bad as the horrifying Knicks past drafts, they are the team that drafted Todd Marinovich, Robert Gallery, Rickey Dudley, Matt Stinchcomb, Quentin Moses and Phillip Buchanon.  They made a solid pick in La’Roi Glover, but cut him after one year and watched him go to multiple Pro Bowls.  And lets not forget giving up the 7th pick and Napoleon Harris for Randy Moss, who did nothing and then trading him away for just a 4th rounder and watch him star again.

 Now this year we saw the Raiders draft Darrius Heyward-Bey #7 overall despite many having him ranked much lower.  Then of course in the second round they took Mike Mitchell, who many scouts didn’t even have on their draft board.  With the NBA draft this coming week, what does the Raiders analogy mean for the Knicks?  It is a deep draft for point guards, which is a crucial Knicks need.  If the similarities continue they will probably stretch for a lower ranked PG with others more highly regarded on the board.  Lucky for Knicks fans Greg Paulus didn’t enter his name in the draft and will try college football for a year.  Better look out for him in next years draft Raiders fans.

 So what is the common link?  It’s sadly all too easy to figure out.  Al Davis and Jim Dolan own the Raiders and Knicks, respectively and have used their stubborn, heavy handed ownership to make one terrible decision after another.  From horrific coaching decisions (can you say Lane Kiffin and Isiah Thomas), to interfering in drafts and trades, to simply embarrassing the franchises with their comments and behavior, it is amazing we haven’t learned these two guys are best friends.  If you were to write a book on how not to run a franchise you would have all the research you needed with just these two guys.  Fans of both teams are holding out hope that the recent coaching hires of Tom Cable and Mike D’Antoni will resurrect the franchises.  They both seem like quality guys that want to go about things the right way.  However, as a fan of either one of these teams you will always be on edge knowing the coaches and teams failure is only one idiotic ownership move away. 

 The NFL and NBA are much better when the Raiders and Knicks are relevant teams fighting for championships.  They have a great history, dedicated fans spread across the nation and even the world.  Lets all hope in the years to come both teams are still similar, but for all the right reasons.

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NFL Week 15 2009 - Raiders VS Broncos Highlights

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