A season with the infamous fans of the football team
everyone loves to hate. ''''[B]eyond doubt the sleaziest
and rudest and most sinister mob of thugs and whackos
ever assembled in such numbers under a single ''roof,''
so to speak, anywhere in the English-speaking
world.''--Hunter S. Thompson on Raiders fans'' The
silver-and-black-clad Oakland Raiders fans are the most
notorious in American professional sports, with a mythic
reputation for cursing, drinking, brawling, and
generally wreaking mayhem. The devotion of the team's
multiracial, largely blue-collar supporters runs deep,
creating a profound sense of community. As Jim Miller
and Kelly Mayhew reveal in this hair-raising and
entertaining new book, the self-described Raider Nation,
smitten with its outlaw mystique, provides a gritty
alternative to California's sunshine-and-granola image.
Over the course of the harrowing 2003 season, Miller and
Mayhew explored the reality behind the myth and
interviewed legions of rabid Raiders fans--from suburban
families to bikers--while attending games in the ''Black
Hole'' (the rowdiest section in Oakland's stadium),
frequenting sports bars, and crashing tailgate parties.
Featuring the extraordinary photography of Joseph A.
Blum, ''Better to Reign in Hell'' is both a rollicking
tale of obsessive fandom and a fascinating study of the
intersection of class, race, gender, and community in
professional sports. |
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