How do you begin describing what it's like to be a Raiders fan to someone who isn't one?
Supporting the Silver and Black is certainly not for the faint of heart, I'll tell you that. And while every team's fanbase has their highs and lows to ramble on about, nobody quite rides the rollercoaster like those who have backed this team from Oakland to Los Angeles to Oakland again to Las Vegas.
The Raiders just do things that other franchises don't.
They are unquantifably unique but iconic in equal measure. There is something innate in every member of Raider Nation to uphold the ethics of organization and to rep The Shield, no matter how low things get. And to have doubts no matter how high they fly.
In an attempt to put into words the extreme anguish and intense ecstasy that is cheering for this team, I've compiled what I think are the 25 most memorable moments for the Raiders since the turn of the century, in chronological order, along with some honorable mentions.
And although these have been the franchise's darkest days, fans will be shocked at just how high some of the highs have been. They will also feel the pain of reliving those lows as well. Enjoy, Raider Nation.
A roadmap for the 25 most memorable Raiders moments since 2000
The Tuck Rule Game - January 19, 2002
We begin with the most notorious moment in franchise history, as Charles Woodson forced a fumble on Tom Brady, recovered by Greg Biekert, to seal the win and a spot in the AFC Championship Game the following week. But the referees botched the call and gave it back to the New England Patriots, who ended up winning. This forced a retroactive rule change and kickstarted the Patriots' dynasty. It was a joke then, is still a joke now, and will always be a joke of a call. But it'll never be funny.
Jon Gruden traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - February 18, 2002
Just when the Raiders seemed like they were getting back over the hump in the AFC, and a bad call (see above) screwed them out of a chance at an AFC title, the relationship between Jon Gruden and Al Davis soured. Instead of working it out, Chucky was sent to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two first-rounders, two second-round picks, and $8 million in cash. Davis apparently put it like this:
"Tampa Bay came to me, and they said they wanted Gruden...I felt that I put the price tag so high that they wouldn't agree to it. And they did. Gruden is no longer our coach."
If only he knew what the fallout of this trade would be when he agreed to it.
Rich Gannon wins NFL MVP award - 2002 season
Gannon was a journeyman quarterback and never started a whole season before he found his way to Oakland. And as Jon Gruden recently put it, Gannon came to the Raiders to spite his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs. Spite, he did. Gannon utilized a wide receiver trio of Jerry Rice, Tim Brown and Jerry Porter, plus the pass-catching ability of running back Charlie Garner, to throw for an NFL-best 4,689 yards in 2002 under his new head coach, Bill Callahan. What a year for Gannon and Oakland.
Raiders dominate AFC playoffs, melt down in Super Bowl vs. Bucs - January 2003
To continue with the glorious season that was the 2002 campaign for the Raiders, Callahan's squad stomped through the AFC playoffs, winning by 20 and 17 to advance to the Super Bowl. This team looked invincible and was on a crash course with Gruden's Bucs. But a series of odd distractions crept into the Silver and Black's locker room, and the team got steamrolled by Tampa Bay. They were down 34-3 at one point, thanks in large part to Gannon's five interceptions and three pick-sixes.
Perhaps no month-long stretch encapsulates the highs and lows of being a Raider fan more than this.
Barret Robbins goes missing before Super Bowl XXXVII - January 25, 2003
The late Barret Robbins struggled with mental health throughout his life, and he had a very public episode before the aforementioned Super Bowl against the Bucs. Robbins went missing in the days before the big game, as he traveled down to Mexico from the team hotel in San Diego and went on a bender - partying because he thought the Raiders were champions. The game hadn't been played.
This is obviously a tragic memory for Robbins, his loved ones, the team and this fanbase. But it's hard not to think about this as one of the most memorable and consequential moments of the millennium for this franchise. Rest in Peace.
Randy Moss traded to Oakland - March 2, 2005
After an all-world 2003 season, Randy Moss looked incredibly human in 2004. So, Davis took the opportunity to buy somewhat low on the Minnesota Vikings star, sending the No. 7 pick, a seventh-rounder and Napoleon Harris for his services. Of course, Moss had a mundane two years with the franchise before finding his second wind with the Patriots once Oakland finally dealt him. But the excitement of landing Moss and seeing him trot out there in that No. 18 jersey is unforgettable.
Drafting Jamarcus Russell - April 28, 2007
The Raiders' 2006 NFL season was not for the weak. Oakland averaged just 10.5 points per game, and their odd collection of quarterbacks threw seven touchdowns and 24 interceptions. With the No. 1 pick in their grasp, they selected JaMarcus Russell from LSU, who was built in a lab to be a transformational player. The excitement of the pick was unparalleled. Of course, things didn't come close to panning out, but how could anyone forget this day and the beacon of hope it was?
Al Davis, Lane Kiffin and an Overhead Projector - September 30, 2008
Davis made 31-year-old Kiffin the youngest head coach in NFL history and always treated him with kid gloves. The two never had a good relationship, it seemed. So, when Davis finally got the chance to fire Kiffin, he chose to embarrass him publicly as well. Davis called a press conference and pulled out an overhead projector (from who knows where?) to cite some of Kiffin's shortcomings as coach. Davis said he was "embarrassed" to watch Kiffin coach the Raiders and that he "picked the wrong guy."
It's pretty funny to look back at now, but at the time, it was quite mortifying. And it was always unneccessary, but will always be memorable.
Raiders go nuclear at Mile High, beat Broncos 59-14 - October 24, 2010
Tom Cable's team walked into Invesco Field at Mile High fresh off a low-scoring loss to their Bay Area rival San Francisco 49ers. And the Raiders took out their anger on the Broncos, beating the pulp out of them in a 59-14 road victory. Oakland got up 24-0 in the first stanza, and they were up 38-0 before Denver woke up just before the half. This was probably Darren McFadden's finest day as a Raider, and the best part is that my dad was there in person to see it with his Broncos-fan friends. And he made them stay until the bitter end.
Al Davis passes away - October 8, 2011
The day that changed everything.
Nobody is immortal in this plane of existence, but if someone were going to be, it would have been the great pioneer that was Al Davis. If nothing else, his ferocity and stubbornness surely fended off the Grim Reaper longer than the original plan called for. But in many ways, Al has lived on forever.
Not just the next day, when his beloved Raiders defeated the Houston Texans in the final moments on "The Divine Interception," a play in which there were only 10 men on the field. Well, 11, if you believe that Davis interfered from the great beyond. But in everyday life for the Silver and Black, he is alive.
His name is still stuck on every player's helmet. His sayings are plastered throughout the facility and revered as iconic by everyone in the NFL landscape, repeated with frequency. And the Raiders light a torch to remember him before every home game, whether that was in Oakland or now in Las Vegas.
Davis left a lasting legacy on the game of football, and he made the Silver and Black what they were. This was a solemn, somber day for Raider Nation and the league at large. There have been and will continue to be many eccentric figures in the NFL, but there will forever and always be one Al Davis.
Charles Woodson returns to the Silver and Black - May 21, 2013
After heartbreakingly leaving the Raiders in 2006 and winning a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers, Woodson gloriously returned to the Silver and Black in 2013, and he rewound the clock at age 37. Woodson played three more good years with the Raiders, earning an All-Pro nod in his final campaign in 2015 and, most notably, picked off Peyton Manning twice in one game just days after saying that he had always wanted to pick off the legendary quarterback.
The perfect embodiment of "Once a Raider, always a Raider."
0-10 Raiders get first win in a Thursday Night Football rainstorm - November 20, 2014
When the NFL realized that the 0-10 Raiders were set to face the 7-3 Chiefs on Thursday Night Football, they probably panicked about ticket sales and TV ratings. But Oakland fans brought unreal energy to the Coliseum, even in the pouring rain amid a winless season, and helped propel the team. Led by a rookie Derek Carr and Khalil Mack, among with Woodson and others, the Silver and Black earned a tide-turning victory and overcame a now-hilarious and way too-long celebration that Mack and Sio Moore did together after what they apparently thought was the game-clinching sack.
The magic and enchantment of the 2016 season
This season, as a whole, was just spectacular. Well, until the end. More on that in a minute. From the big win down in New Orleans in Week 1 when Carr flipped over a Saints defender and Michael Crabtree caught the game-winning two-point conversion, to Seth Roberts' game-winning OT touchdown against the Bucs, to Mack's pick-six on Cam Newton, pretty much every game was close and filled with heroics or some kind of improbable ending. 2016 was the last time that Raider Nation went into every Sunday expecting to win. This was a team of destiny, it seemed. Until...
Derek Carr breaks his leg against the Colts - December 24, 2016
"It's broke. It's broke. It's broke..."
Hearing that will haunt me and every member of Raider Nation forever. After the magic of the first 15 weeks of the 2016 season, it all came crashing down on Christmas Eve when Carr got sacked and had his leg broken in the fourth quarter, with the score sitting at 33-14. Donald Penn may not forgive himself for letting his defender by, but fans do. They're still frustrated with Del Rio for having him in the game, though, and for what the injury seemed to do to Carr's psyche for the rest of his career. He was never the same, and it all happened so quickly. A moment we'd all like to forget, but cannot.
Raiders' relocation to Las Vegas, Nevada, becomes official - March 27, 2017
After years of going back and forth with the city of Oakland and the NFL, the owners finally voted on the Raiders' proposal to move to Las Vegas, and they approved the motion. All of a sudden, the days of the Oakland Raiders were soon to be over, and the team would be relocating for a third time, but for the first time across state lines. The Silver and Black were now a Nevada team, at least officially. They'll always be king in the state of California, but this was a monumental shift in the landscape.
At least Allegiant Stadium is unbelievable and Las Vegas is a fun city to visit.
Jack Del Rio announces his own firing - December 31, 2017
Following the Carr injury and the subsequent playoff loss, the Del Rio-led Raiders never got their mojo back. They won two games to begin the 2017 season but then lost four in a row. They finished 6-10 and on another four-game losing streak. After suffering a lopsided defeat against the Chargers in the finale, Del Rio went to the podium and told the press that he had been fired.
"I spoke with Mark Davis after the game, and Mark let me know that he's not going to be bringing me back,"Â Del Rio said.
And that was that. Tough to forget.
Khalil Mack gets shipped off to the Bears - September 1, 2018
Things had been brewing in Oakland for some time between Mack and the newly reinstated Jon Gruden. But I remember so clearly the feeling of waking up and seeing that Mack had been dealt to the Chicago Bears for a mountain of picks. And it wasn't a good one. So close to Week 1, the hope was that the storm would subside and Mack would at least play and take his anger out on other teams. But suddenly, the best Raider in recent memory became a Bear. Making matters worse, Oakland squandered the return it got for Mack. But that was more of a gradual burn than a moment.
Oakland swings for Antonio Brown and badly misses - March 9, 2019
Hindsight is always 20-20, but wasn't it odd that Antonio Brown was being shopped just months after recording 1,300 receiving yards and leading the NFL in touchdowns? Gruden and Mike Mayock didn't seem to think so, as they sent a few picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers to acquire the league's best wideout. And the months that followed were, to put it mildly, downright miserable. From frozen feet to hot air balloons to helmet issues to slurs to social media antics, Brown was an absolute nightmare and never played a game in Oakland. But for a brief moment, it seemed like a good idea.
And that time was nothing if not memorable. Although I wish I could wipe my mind clean of this time.
Jon Gruden email scandal, Henry Ruggs tragedy, Damon Arnette incident happen within one month - October/November 2021
Following a 3-0 start to the 2021 NFL season, things went dramatically downhill for the Raiders. They lost two straight games, but that was just the beginning. Gruden ended up resigning after a New York Times investigation revealed that he had sent, without getting into details, boatloads of emails that were inappropriate or offensive between 2011 and 2018. Call it a witch hunt if you'd like, and maybe it was, in some ways. But Gruden said what he said, and Al Davis wouldn't have approved.
Less than a month later, Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III drove drunk into the back of Tina Tintor's car, killing her and her dog. It was an unspeakable tragedy during the Raiders' bye week, and Ruggs III is rightfully still serving time in prison. Arnette, Ruggs III's fellow 2020 first-rounder, was kicked off the team just days later for brandishing firearms and making death threats to fans on social media. This was a memorable month, in the worst way possible. A definite low point for the franchise.
Raiders clinch playoff berth in dramatic Week 18 finale vs. Chargers - January 9, 2022
Somehow, in spite of all that we just went through above, interim Rich Bisaccia was able to lead this Raiders team to a playoff berth. But it took Las Vegas beating the Chargers in the final game of the season on Sunday Night Football to get there. After building a two-score lead, the Raiders did what they do: blew it. Los Angeles rallied to tie things up and force overtime, and they were clearly playing for a tie, as both teams would have made the playoffs. But Las Vegas wanted no part of that.
They drove down the field on the third possession of overtime, got into field goal range, and Carr smirked and celebrated as he called a timeout before Daniel Carlson even took the field. Cash Money split it through the uprights, and the Silver and Black went to the postseason for the first time since 2016 under improbable circumstances and amid unebelievable tragedy. And they sent the Chargers home in the process, making it twice as sweet.
Josh McDaniels gets fired on Halloween - October 31, 2023
The whole McDaniels era was forgettable in a lot of ways, or at least Raider Nation aims to forget it. But they surely remember when he met his fate with Mark Davis. After losing in embarrassing fashion on Monday Night Football against the Detroit Lions, Davis didn't fire him that night, or the next morning. He waited until the following night, when McDaniels' kids were out trick-or-treating on Halloween, to break the news to him.
Davis' finest moment as an owner? Certainly not. Fans are accustomed to him being a bit classier than that. But there is no love lost between McDaniels and Raiders fans, so the result of him getting fired was all that mattered.
Raiders dismantle Chargers 63-21 on Thursday Night Football - December 14, 2023
Although the Antonio Pierce era was off to a good start, fans started to lose hope in the substitute for McDaniels when the Raiders suffered a painful 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings after the bye. Maybe AP wasn't built to be a head coach. But then, on a short week, Las Vegas exploded on Thursday Night Football against the hapless Chargers, beating them 63-21, thanks in part to two defensive scores, one of which was Jack Jones' mind-boggling interception. Los Angeles cleaned house afterward.
Tom Brady becomes a minority owner of the Raiders - October 2024
Based on the way that this list started, it is miraculous that Brady has even been forgiven by the fans, let alone the franchise, let alone given a financial stake in it and some influence in the decision-making. But a lot has changed in 25 years. In an attempt to get some football savvy in the building, Mark Davis bit on Brady's business proposal to become a minority owner, and the legendary QB was officially welcomed aboard in October of 2024. His weight is finally being thrown around, too, and it stands to reason that he is helping with the potential turnaround fans are seeing in Las Vegas in 2026.
Al Davis is rolling over in his grave, though.
The Maxx Crosby trade that never was - March 7, 2026
Crosby was supposed to be a lifelong Raider, but it was clear that he didn't want to be a part of yet another rebuild in Las Vegas. So, John Spytek and Klint Kubiak shipped him off to the Baltimore Ravens for two first-round picks. Everyone seemed happy. Until the Ravens' front office sleazily called it off at the last second and cited "injury concerns." Now, the Raiders had to mend the fences with their superstar and play a hand they were not originally dealt in free agency. It was a complete mess.
But by all accounts, Crosby is happy to be back in the Silver and Black. All is well that ends well, but this will be quite the "remember when?" down the road. And Eric DeCosta and the Ravens will always have an enemy in Raider Nation for how they treated Crosby.
Fernando Mendoza selected No. 1 overall - April 23, 2026
After a brutal 2025 campaign in which the legendary Pete Carroll somehow torpedoed the Raiders to the bottom of the league, Las Vegas had a tremendous quarterback prospect fall right into their lap: Fernando Mendoza, who was born to wear Silver and Black. He hasn't played a real game yet, as of this writing, but he is perhaps the biggest beacon of hope that the team has had since Russell in '07. And I think everyone has faith that it'll pan out quite a bit differently this time around.
Let's flippin' go.
Honorable Mentions:
- Jerry Rice signing with Raiders - June 5, 2001
- Ronald Curry's one-handed catch vs. Broncos - November 28, 2004
- Raiders trade for Richard Seymour - September 6, 2009
- Tom Cable "We're not Losers anymore" - January 2, 2011
- Carson Palmer traded to Oakland - October 18, 2011
- Terrelle Pryor's record-setting 93-yard TD run vs. Steelers - October 27, 2013
- Tony Sparano (RIP) buries the football - October 6, 2014
- Raiders lose 52-0 to Rams - November 30, 2014
- Michael Crabtree and Aqib Talib Fights - 2016 and 2017
- Jon Gruden's Raiders take victory lap around Arrowhead - October 11, 2020
- Derek Carr to Zay Jones walk-off TD in first LV game with fans - September 13, 2021
- Davante Adams traded to the Raiders - March 17, 2022
- Chandler Jones game-winning pick-six on Jakobi Meyers - December 18, 2022
- Raiders steal Christmas from Chiefs - December 25, 2023
- Klint Kubiak hired as head coach, starts 3-0 - 2026
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