Oakland Raiders: McMahon Could Giveth What Davis Taketh Away

The Oakland Raiders have earned the ire of fans in the East Bay with their impending relocation – but, it’s possible that the city of Oakland may not be bereft of football entirely.

The Oakland Raiders — despite a last minute, Hail Mary, desperation attempt by a collection of fans in the East Bay – will be leaving Oakland for their glitzy new home in Las Vegas. The impending move, which, in all likelihood, is going to happen, has earned little more than scorn and derision from many fans in the East Bay.

However, when the Raiders do pull up stakes and move to the desert, that doesn’t necessarily mean the end of football in Oakland.

Earlier this week, Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO of the WWE, announced that he would be rebooting the XFL after a 17 year – hiatus.

Yeah, you remember the XFL, right? Cheerleaders wearing next to nothing, guys with names like “He Hate Me” on their jerseys, an opening scramble – rather than a coin-toss – for opening possession, and a very, very sub-par brand of football.

With all of that going for it, is it any wonder the league went belly up after one season?

However, in this day and age literally everything seems to be getting a reboot – and in some cases, the reboots have actually been better than the originals. So, why not the XFL? With 17 years to learn and grow, is it possible that McMahon could put a better product on the field?

Absolutely. Anything is possible. Well – almost anything. We’re pretty sure the Cleveland Browns will go 0-for-eternity in their quest for a Super Bowl title.

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However, in his press conference announcing the reboot of the league, McMahon, showing that he’s learned from the mistakes of the past, said he will be taking the gimmicks out of the new-look XFL and that they would be focusing strictly on, “playing football.”

The first incarnation of the XFL was a flop of epic proportions with both McMahon and NBC, who televised the games, taking an absolute bath on the venture. This time around though, McMahon sounds determined to get it right and offer up a league that can actually compete with the NFL.

The league will initially feature eight teams with rosters being comprised of 40 players each. Four teams will make the playoffs, with obviously, one eventual champion.

So, what does this have to to with Oakland?

Well, at present, no cities have been announced as the home base for any of the XFL teams. With two years to go until opening kickoff – time McMahaon insists will be used to get the league right this time around – there will be plenty of time for cities to jockey for position.

Given that the Raiders should be opening their new stadium in Vegas in 2020 – coincidentally, the same year the XFL is supposed to launch – it makes a certain sense for one of the new teams to land in the East Bay.

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The XFL is going to need to put their shiny new teams in cities that already have stadiums ready to go. Granted, a lot of cities have college stadiums they could probably work with, but the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum seems like a good starter stadium, for a starter team, in a starter league.

And who knows, given that it’s a new team in a new league, they might even be able to adopt some Silver and Black uniforms. You’d have the check on the legalities of it all.

Regardless, with a new football league set to launch, the city of Oakland having a perfectly viable (if a bit decrepit) venue to host football games, it might make sense for city officials – and the fanbase – to rally up some support to bring an XFL team to the East Bay.

Although some fans might reject the notion, saying it’s “sub-par” football, while understandable given the first go-round of the XFL, it might be worth it to keep an open mind. McMahon is vowing to learn from the mistakes of the past and put a legitimate football league on the field.

Despite the impassioned effort to keep the Raiders in the East Bay, the chances are incredibly slim that it comes to pass. The Raiders are leaving for Las Vegas and there doesn’t seem to be any way around it. But, a new league offers the city of Oakland a chance to keep the sport so many love and are passionate about in town.

It’s not the solution many want, but at least there would be football in Oakland.