Fallen and falling hero's...remembering the greatness
Posted 08-23-2008 at 08:25 AM by Attyla
I have mulled over the passing of Gene Upshaw for the last day or so, and I have listened to the different takes on his life and legacy. As a player, he had no equal. As an administrator of the directives of the Players Association, he has been both villified and praised. I don't think there is much more that can be offered on those issues. He was great in his time next to Shell, and he impacted the game significantly as an exec, for good or for bad.
But, I cannot in good faith let it go there. I was a child, almost a baby when he lost his first Super Bowl. I was almost a teen when he won it all, and I was in almost a high school graduate when he hung them up. Back then he was a giant. He was not some suit who managed millionaire's money, he was a guy you saw on trading cards. He was a hero. I know we are all supposed to get past that at some point in our lives, and not see them as hero's but as men...but I cannot with the greats of the past. I revert to being a kid when I think about him and the other great men who prowled the fields of my memories. I see Upshaw and all the rest as true modern day knights who rode out onto the field of battle week after week. It was the game of my youth that I miss as I think of him. I miss the brutes who battered each other week after week. We as Raider fans sometimes get a bad rap about living in the past, but this past is well worth reliving again and again.
The first one who left me with this feeling was Lyle, and it took a while to get past his death and his admissions of drug use. Other great players both Raiders and others soon followed, and now we place a new wreath around the memory of Gene. I never knew him, and he hasn't played in decades, but I miss the idea that he could still suit up and play that game one last time. There is s sadness to the finality of it, that creates a dull ache in my memories of those players. I know he will not be the last, and that too saddens me.
The roll call of former players and legends who have gone home is filled with the greatness of the game. And two days ago, they met up with another who made his mark...not as a player, not as an administrator....but as a hero. My hero.
And yes, right now, Im that 11 year old guy who got to watch them work out in the summer heat of southern California. Im that kid who loved every minute of being alive when they were truely hero's and great men. Im the kid who wanted more than anything to be just like him, and all of the other Raiders back in the day. Im still just a kid when all is said and done.
And I hope he read this.
But, I cannot in good faith let it go there. I was a child, almost a baby when he lost his first Super Bowl. I was almost a teen when he won it all, and I was in almost a high school graduate when he hung them up. Back then he was a giant. He was not some suit who managed millionaire's money, he was a guy you saw on trading cards. He was a hero. I know we are all supposed to get past that at some point in our lives, and not see them as hero's but as men...but I cannot with the greats of the past. I revert to being a kid when I think about him and the other great men who prowled the fields of my memories. I see Upshaw and all the rest as true modern day knights who rode out onto the field of battle week after week. It was the game of my youth that I miss as I think of him. I miss the brutes who battered each other week after week. We as Raider fans sometimes get a bad rap about living in the past, but this past is well worth reliving again and again.
The first one who left me with this feeling was Lyle, and it took a while to get past his death and his admissions of drug use. Other great players both Raiders and others soon followed, and now we place a new wreath around the memory of Gene. I never knew him, and he hasn't played in decades, but I miss the idea that he could still suit up and play that game one last time. There is s sadness to the finality of it, that creates a dull ache in my memories of those players. I know he will not be the last, and that too saddens me.
The roll call of former players and legends who have gone home is filled with the greatness of the game. And two days ago, they met up with another who made his mark...not as a player, not as an administrator....but as a hero. My hero.
And yes, right now, Im that 11 year old guy who got to watch them work out in the summer heat of southern California. Im that kid who loved every minute of being alive when they were truely hero's and great men. Im the kid who wanted more than anything to be just like him, and all of the other Raiders back in the day. Im still just a kid when all is said and done.
And I hope he read this.
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I agree Attyla but the glory years were the years in Oakland before the move; I think the move tarnished the magic some and Al Davis has said before he shouldn't have moved.
My dad got season tickets as a young man in 1960 before I was thought of when they played at Kezar and Candlestick. They actually gave away many tickets to bars and restaurants in the Oakland/San Francisco Area. Those times were magical. The Oakland Coliseum was home, and it was louder than any place I've ever been in. The stadium is loud now but other than the Titan's playoff game, the stadium isn't close to what it was. When Don Shula was interviewed about the Raiders offensive line one time he said they play like pirates and Shell is the captain. The Raiders were tough, at times dirty, always intimidation; you just win baby. Upshaw was the leader; after every crazy Madden speech, Upshaw would talk and tell people to follow the coach and lets do this. He was professional, tough, and took no crap. Intimidation. John Facenda said the Raiders offensive line doesn't dominate defenses; they demolish them. After the games in Oakland, the players would go to bars with the fans and even drink in the parking lot. I remember seeing my dad drink beers with Ken Stabler and Pete Banascak and Art Thoms and many others. At the tender age of 3, Warren Wells played catch with me. Warren Wells! Madden still says Wells is the best player he ever coached. I dont remember it but I sure see the eyes light up in my dad about it. They weren't players they were family and if you were an opponent it was like you were against our family; it was personal. The Raiders RARELY lost at home. Don Shula once said the coliseum was hell and its where bad people go when they die; Hank Stram said its criminal to open San Quentin on Sundays just to let them watch games in football in Oakland. We were family; and the passing of all the great Raiders is a tragic thing. This one hurts bad because he was such a great guy. The players now get 60% of the revenues when before he was president of the NFLPA they received nothing. I for one think the Raider nation thing is fun but its' mostly after the L.A. days. Even Al Davis said he never should have moved, because the magic Oakland fans and the Raiders had was unreal. The malls were packed on Sundays during away games with fathers watching the games in electronics stores. Kids all over the bay area wore silver and black, and the traffic was much lighter as well. Santa Rosa couldn't wait for the summer 2 a days when the Raiders would party like rockstars with fans. Father Hienz at the catholic church we went to in Napa would always pray for the Raiders and their health; DURING MASS! Everyone nodded in agreement. Along with Madden, Stabler and Davis, the other leader of the great Raider teams was Gene Upshaw. But not to be too dramatic but for all Oakland Raider fans of old, we didnt' lose a great player or a hero; we lost a family member. Our family members that would sweat and bleed to bring us wins so we could forget our troubles for a while. Like Madden said, we loved them and they loved us. And I'm with you. This week I became a kid again, looking up to these great guys that were so good at what they did. I agree Attyla; thank God for our memories in Oakland and Los Angeles. We won together and today, we cry together. Thank you Gene for making so many kids smile. How innocent were those times; how happy we are to have known them. Jim (ice4444) |
 
Updated 08-23-2008 at 09:33 AM by ice4444 (spelling) |
Recent Blog Entries by Attyla
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- Fallen and falling hero's...remembering the greatness (08-23-2008)
