Oakland Raiders Jobbed Worse Than Snow Game In Fandom 250

The Oakland Raiders climbed the ladder in the 2017 edition of FanSided’s Fandom 250 – and yet, they still got jobbed harder than the Snow Game against New England all the way back in ’01.

The results are in and the Oakland Raiders, in the 2017 edition of FanSided’s Fandom 250, have checked in as the thirty-first best fandom in – well – everything.

On the strength of Oakland’s 12-4 season in 2016, and a return trip to the playoffs for the first time since George W. Bush was sitting in the Oval Office – ahhh yes, that halcyon time many of us find ourselves pining for these days – the Raiders climbed twenty-two spots of the Fandom 250 charts, rising from fifty-third last year, all the way up to thirty-first.

Ordinarily, a twenty-two spot rise in the charts would be something to celebrate. Pop the champagne, light the cigars, and let the partying commence. Right?

Well, when you consider the fact that fandoms like Taylor Swift, Disney, and freaking Netflix of all things, wound up ranked higher, a little bit of the shine comes off that particular gem. It’s not quite as big a feather in the cap, so to speak.

About the best thing that can be said is that, at least the Raiders finished higher than Justin Bieber. Still, coming in behind the likes of Taylor Swift, Nascar, and freaking Netflix is a worse snow job than what the Raiders got in New England back in that ’01 playoff game – that is, was, and always will be a fumble.

If you’re not familiar with FanSided’s Fandom 250, the best “fandoms” are ranked across the entire spectrum of entertainment – television shows, movies, singers, actors, etc. – to determine which entertainment entity carries the most weight.

More from Golden Gate Sports

And this year, the best fandom in all the land is the Ohio State Buckeyes. We can only presume that’s because Buckeye’s fans flooded the ballot box, hoping to prevent Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines from winning anything this year.

If that’s the case, kudos, Buckeyes fans. You did it.

But, if we compare apples to apples – because, let’s face it, the Raiders will never beat Taylor Swift head to head, there just aren’t that many teenyboppers into football – let’s see how the Raiders stacked up against other NFL franchises in the rankings, shall we?

Among NFL teams, the Raiders came in with the fifth-best fandom in the land. One slot ahead of the Devils of New England, but one slot behind that squad from Kansas City – yeah, that one stings a bit.

While a solid case can be made for the fandoms of teams one through three – Pittsburgh, Dallas, and Green Bay – the same can’t be said for the Chiefs, slotting in at number four. Does anybody outside of Kansas City actually know a Chiefs fan personally?

Raiders fans are the most passionate in the entire NFL. You’ve seen the pictures from the Black Hole, you’ve seen the shoulder pads, spikes, face paint, and skull masks – that just screams passion and intensity. Raiders fans have stuck with the team through the move to LA, back to Oakland, and now to Las Vegas – well, except for a small sliver of bitter, angry people.