Fans, team, unite around one of their own

Some of the hostility immediately following the unfortunate incident involving Raider wide out Javon Walker may have been exacerbated by the fact Oakland, just like Walker, has struggled in recent years.

Fans watched a once proud Silver and Black standard plummet from the lofty heights of the new Millenium to a 5 year skid of embarrassment and frustration.

Wary of and unsure if Al Davis is a genius or mad man, Raider fans were left dizzy from an off season spending spree featuring enormous contracts for injured and in some cases untested players.

The Raider Nation waits for 08' to see if Davis' gambit has boldly lead his team back to glory and solidified his legend as one of the greatest sports pioneers of all time, or whether his moves this year will tarnish his legacy, painting him a desperate gambler who mortgaged his teams future in a failed effort to chase glory and instead, sinking them deeper into the abyss.

Theres a lot riding on 2008 for Oakland and ancy Raider fans know it. Most swimming with a heady mix of excitement and tempered apprehension, anxious to see if their new acquisitions will pan out, or become the next in a growing list of recent failures.

Aside from Oaklands slide, the knee jerk reaction some Raider fans had to Walker’s breaking news may have inadvertently been affected by the seemingly constant flow of negative stories recently surrounding the NFL, its teams and its players.

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Perhaps, just seeing Javon’s name in the news had fans assuming the worst, that Walker was yet another athlete who was selfish, entitled and engaged in criminal or unprofessional activity.

Other than enjoying an ill advised night out, as of this moment, criminal or unsavory behavior on his part hardly seems to be the case.

The back lash from some fans and sectors of the media reporting rumor and blatant speculation ranging from career ending injuries to kidnaping and set up, have run rampant since the story was first released.

Derogatory and negative comments about Walker's unfortunate episode surfaced just as fast, but as more facts came to light, the majority of Raider fans seem to have shown genuine concern and compassion toward Walker's plight. All this despite the fact he’d been with Oakland only a short while.

Walker joined the Raiders after a public falling out with the team that originally drafted him, Green Bay. The Packers sent him to Raider division rival Denver.

After the murder of team mate Darrent Williams and injuries, Walker fell out and eventually left on bad terms and under a dark cloud.

Those who've followed Walker's career know his departure from Denver was yet more of the roller coaster highs and lows he's endured since joining the NFL.

From a 1st round draft pick, to the Pro Bowl, to injury and surgeries, from unemployment, to a large multi year contract, to murder, to release, unemployment and back to being a multi millionaire again.

Looking at the totality of it, can one really blame him for being slightly overwhelmed on occasion?

Raider fans hope Javon finds a home to settle into in Oakland and turns his career around, because in many ways, whether its understood or not, Javon’s fate and the Raiders could very well be one and the same.

In the days proceeding the incident, Raider fans seem to be taking Walker under their wing posting notes of encouragement and well wishes, despite the fact Walker is so new to the team “Because,” explained on Raider fan, “Once your an Oakland Raider, your a Raider for life.”

It may sound trite or corny to some, but clearly, the saying has meaning and is a demonstrable fact. Raider fans are unusually loyal and very often that spreads from one generation to the next.

Fathers teach sons, names like "Matuszak" "Allen", “Biletnikoff" and Bo. Darryl Lamonica “the Mad Bomber", Jim Otto and George Blanda. Together, they watch games, lament indignities and regale in victories hard fought and won.

Truth be told, those vitories have been few and far between in recent campaigns.

Raider fans hope Javon helps Oakland write the next great chapter in Raider lore, so that their sons can regale theirs about how the Raiders turned their fortune around with the help of a young man who like Oakland, suffered years of trials and tribulations, but together, triumphed and found success and glory again.

At this moment in time, in many ways, the fans, the team and Walker himself are reliant on each other for sucess because in a very real way, Javon’s story is Oaklands and Oaklands is his.

They’ve both known highs and lows in recent years and fate has not been kind.

Yet, in Oakland of all places, Walker may have something he feels has been missing in other cities with other teams.

A kindred spirit and acceptance.

Acceptance by a team and fans who want nothing more than to see him and their beloved franchise click together and begin to compete.

Though Walker is relatively new to the team and raised eye brows with his sizable off season contract, the general consensus among the Silver and Black in response to his plight seems to be positive. Some even see a closing of the ranks around a fallen comrade and a genuine concern for his well being.

Walker’s mis adventure and injury may be folly, but in some strange way, it may also be the impetus and lightning rod that ignites and unites Oakland together as they rally around, no matter how new, one of their own.