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What happens when goodbye isn’t really goodbye? That was the story of the not last, last Raiders game in Oakland. It was one of the most surreal sporting events I have ever had the pleasure of attending.
Christmas Eve fell on a Monday in 2018 which meant holiday football. And, as luck would have it, the Oakland Raiders were selected for primetime. Of course, this was a period of flux for the nomadic Raiders franchise.
Relocation plans to Las Vegas had been approved in 2017 much to the chagrin of the team’s Northern California fans. However, Mark Davis had some issues. A new stadium in Las Vegas wouldn’t be ready until 2020 and the lease for the Oakland Coliseum expired at the end of 2018.
All signs pointed to the franchise playing one last season in Oakland during 2019. That was until December 2018 when the City of Oakland filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the Raiders and NFL. Team officials had gone on record saying they would not stay in Oakland if the city sued the team. The amount of uncertainty caused was off the charts.
Heading into Oakland’s home finale in 2018, there was no clarity on the situation. Most of the talk had focused on Mark Davis trying to play in San Francisco, something that would ultimately be rejected. As it turns out, the team had no other option but to return to the Coliseum for 2019.
But it must be stressed that we didn’t know this at the end of 2018. There was a real chance the Monday Night Football matchup against the Denver Broncos on Christmas Eve 2018 would be the last NFL game in Oakland.
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