King’s Kourt: Loss to Chiefs leads to an open letter to the Raiders

The Oakland Raiders have looked terrible the past two weeks, so the time has come for Kenny King Jr. to write them a letter.

The past two decades have been a roller coaster of emotions for Raider Nation. As fans of the Oakland Raiders, we have watched our beloved team rise from obscurity to prominence in the early 2000’s, where we watched the Tuck Rule Game in horror, Jon Gruden traded, and then a loss to Jon Gruden’s Buccaneers in the Super Bowl.

After that, there were fifteen years of darkness, until our first playoff berth since 2002, the best quarterback we have had since Rich Gannon, and then Jon Gruden’s return.

Since Chucky has been back, we have traded away both Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper, have hired Mike Mayock, and have built back up the franchise thanks to arguably the best rookie class in team history. Overall, the team has shown progress since Mayock came aboard, and things looked to be trending in the right direction after a 6-4 start.

While there is so much darkness in the recent decade, there is also a very bright light shining near, with a team that is coming together and getting better together. These past two games are not indicative of this team and the fight and desire they have, they also aren’t flukes.

What these past two weeks have been are loud and clear wake up calls. A wake up to Raider Nation that while this team is vastly improved over last season, there is still more work to do. A wake up call to the team, that while you may get punched in the mouth, it isn’t about how you react, it’s about how you respond.

You’ve been knocked down after a 34-3 loss in New York, an embarrassing 40-9 beating in Kansas City, and now you are on the outside looking in at the playoffs. Like a person out in the cold staring in through the window as families sit to eat an enormous meal in a warm, happy setting, wondering “why not us”… well, WHY NOT US?

It isn’t over, in fact, this is only the beginning. As you embark into the fourth quarter of the season with two, technically three because of Los Angeles, home games left, you still have an opportunity to fight for a place at the table and earn a seat. To come out of the cold and get back into the playoffs, and it’s time to put a chip on your shoulders and finish strong.

This is a team that before the season started no one had winning four games, and no one certainly had picked this team to make the playoffs. People questioned the hire of Mayock, whether the game had passed Gruden by, and if Derek Carr is the quarterback of the future for the Raiders.

This team has shown that Mike Mayock should be Executive of the Year, that this game has not passed Jon Gruden by, and that Derek Carr is the franchise quarterback of the Raiders. As you sit at 6-6 three quarters of the way through the season in a position to make the postseason for the first time since 2016, you have to be excited about how far you’ve come and the direction in which you are going.

Character is built when faced with adversity, so how will this team respond? Leaders on the team, how will you lead, who will step up and be the first to take a stand and make a change?

The Raiders are 4-1 at RingCentral Coliseum this season, and with the final two games ever played in Oakland coming this week and next, we WILL NOT LOSE AT HOME. The crowd will be in it for you, Raider Nation will be there for you, don’t worry about that, we will do our job as fans all that we ask is that you send the Raiders out of Oakland the right way.

Just. Win. Baby.