Marcus Allen running backward, then sideways, then seventy-four yards the right way. Super Bowl XVIII, January 1984, the Raiders dismantling Washington 38-9, and Allen reversing field on a run that still looks made up. The Raiders were the league’s outlaws, the silver and black, the team that wanted you to think they would fight you in the parking lot. That night they just out-ran everyone.

Five trips, three trophies, two cities too many

The Raiders have won three Super Bowls and lost two, and they did it from Oakland, then Los Angeles, then Oakland again, and now Las Vegas. The wins were XI over Minnesota, XV with Jim Plunkett over Philadelphia, and XVIII with the Allen run. The losses were Super Bowl II to Lombardi’s Packers and Super Bowl XXXVII, the night their old coach Jon Gruden was on the Tampa Bay sideline and Oakland threw five interceptions in a 48-21 wipeout.

Why I have a soft spot

A franchise that has moved that many times and still kept its identity intact has something my settled little Buffalo could admire. Raiders fans follow the team across deserts and decades. Three rings, one of the great running plays ever, and a brand nobody can copy. The wandering never cost them who they are.