RAIDER NATION

There are a few perks that go along with your dad owning a radio station.

Back in the day, the Oakland Raiders training camp was up in Santa Rosa. It's also where 106.5 FM KMLS broadcast from (my dad's station). The Raiders would spend a couple of weeks in August at the El Rancho Tropicana Hotel and hold their practice's in an adjacent field. At night, while most of the team would raise hell around town (and raise hell is an understatement), two players would guest DJ at my dad's station under the show title "JOCK ROCK."

My dad was able to arrange for my brother and I to visit their training camp one afternoon. We got to meet coach Tom Flores and players Dan Pastorini (who was a prick), Henry Lawrence, and Jim Plunkett. Jim was pretty cool. He actually stopped, shook our hands, and made some nice chit-chat with us. Awesome.

Mike Hererra (who was from the team's front office) was pointing out a few players of the players to us. I didn't recognize some of them (I was pretty old school and was missing Kenny Stabler, Lyle Alzado and John Matuszak), which caused him to jokingly ask "are you sure you're a Raider fan?"

Well, it was already 95 degrees at 10am, I was wearing my heavy Silver and Black jacket and sweating profusely (to the point of almost passing out), so yeah, I was a fan.

I'm still shaking my fist in the air over the fact that NO ONE thought to bring a camera to record this momentous event. (sigh)