Rotoworld senior editor rips Raiders, fans on Twitter
By Chase Ruttig
Nov 3, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders fans in the Black Hole cheer the action of the field during the first quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
It is no secret that making fun of the Oakland Raiders is a common staple in NFL writing circles as the team’s decade long streak of missing the playoffs and a passionate fanbase that is often misunderstood have became easy targets for sportswriters looking for a cheap joke at the Raiders expense.
“Raider Haters” as fans of the team call them are quite common, but there is perhaps no bigger fan of ripping the Raiders and their fans than Rotoworld Football senior editor Evan Silva. Long known for his negative spins on the Raiders (read this spin on Justin Tuck from free agency for a good sample of Silva and Rotoworld’s anti-Raiders takes), the Rotoworld writer took to Twitter to rip Matt Schaub in light of recent positive reports out of Raiders OTA’s surrounding rookie Derek Carr.
Silva didn’t just stop with a fair assessment of the Raiders terrible quarterbacking since the Rich Gannon era, bringing the team’s fans into his negativity towards the team.
When engaged in conversation with 95.7 The Game radio host John Middlekauff about his distaste for Raiders fans, Silva admitted his personal biases towards Raiders fans who he feels are “disrespectful.”
Disliking an NFL team’s personnel moves and decisions is one thing, but making it clear that you openly enjoy seeing one of the league’s teams lose based on your personal dislike towards a fanbase is a tough tightrope to tiptoe if you are a senior editor of a website devoted to covering the news of each team in the NFL. Silva’s anti-Raiders opinions are a matter of preference and opinion which is something fans need to accept as not everybody is going to speak positively over a team that hasn’t won anything since the first George W. Bush administration, but his attack of Raider Nation on Twitter likely won’t be too popularly received, something that may not be good for business considering the passionate fanbase of the Silver and Black.