Like many forms of art and music, sports allow us to feel emotions in a way that we may not get to in other forms.  I think this tends to go unnoticed sometimes.  Whether it’s Glen Miller or Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, there are a wide variety of emotions to express and an even wider variety of triggers of our emotion.   

When I was younger, I probably couldn’t use all my fingers to count the emotions I could name…which brings me to football.

I am not an angry man.  Indeed, I just graduated from medical school (in May) to use my talents to heal.  But if there is anything I hate in this world it is the Raiders.  They are the epitome of undisciplined ineptitude.  It is almost never ok to blindly hate a group of people, unless it is an institution such as the Raiders.  If they are not at work, then I have no problem with them.  As soon as they enter the stadium on Sundays my tolerance slips away.

When I was younger I wasn’t allowed to go to the Chargers v Raiders games.  Too dangerous they would say.  I didn’t think that was true until I had the pleasure of being young and harassed by older Raiders fans.  It wasn’t fun, but it allowed me to enjoy this rivalry/hatred that goes on today.  Some might say that if I still hate them then it shows they matter.  I absolutely agree.  And I enjoy that fact.

Three years ago I went to my first Chargers v. Raiders home game.   That was the game where Vincent Jackson spiked the ball after a catch and was ruled an illegal forward pass.  It was a wonderful experience but the Raider fans were not the crazed lunatics I was expecting.  They were actually pretty timid.  I don’t think Raider fans have much to cheer about and I wanted to revisit some history.

The last time we lost to the Raiders was 2003.  That was 11 games ago.  Can you remember what you were doing when we started our winning streak?  I was going to UCSB for undergrad and watched the game at JK’s house.  Since then I finished undergrad, finished a masters, graduated from medical school and have started my residency.  All of this happened without suffering a defeat to the Raiders.   Enjoy every moment because this win streak came suddenly after splitting the season series with them for a few years and this can go suddenly.  But I think al Davis won’t let that happen.

Sometimes we need to look away and gain an understanding of symbols to understand ourselves.  We can now feel things that might not have been available to us.  Art and sports are all the same because it’s really all us and already within us, just waiting to be let out.  I am thankful to the Chargers for giving an outlet to us via sports.  The Chargers are a phenomenal organization that brings us joy and another way to bring us a sense of fellowship.  What things have you done since we started our win-streak?  Drink the Haterade.