Friday Foto: Raider Nation

RRRRRRRRRaiders!!!!

This picture was taken at a tailgating party of the last Oakland Raider game Matthew and I attended last season. We lost that game, of course. The past few years haven't been kind to our team, but we still support them no matter how many times the Raiders disappoint or how scary the other fans are. Seriously. You should see the parking lot after the games -- totally looks like a scene from Armageddon.

Matthew has been a loyal Raider fan since the day he was born and has literally gone to 100+ games (including Super Bowl XXXVII). You would be hard pressed to find a more dedicated and knowledgeable fan. Our whole downstairs family room/bar area is decked out in Silver and Black paraphernalia -- even the walls are painted with the official Oakland Raider grey. He gifted his groomsmen personalized Raider jerseys at our wedding. He's a super hardcore member of the Raider Nation.

I, too, have always loved the Raiders and can recite the entire roster since 1979 by heart.

OK.

You got me.

I never cared about football until Matthew came along. I had no idea what a "down" meant and was totally baffled by the scoring system - if they kick the ball through the funny looking yellow thing field goal posts it can either equal 3 points or 1?! Too confusing. I used to only watch the Super Bowl with my parents because they had money on a pool and needed the teams to score a certain number to win. That used to be my only exposure to the game.

Not long after we started dating though, Matthew took me to my first sporting event, and I fell in love with the sport. Well, not quite, but I did have a really good time. The energy at the Oakland Coliseum is unmatchable and you can't help but be fully invested in the game. Since then, I became a Raider fan and excitedly await for football Sundays every fall. Sometimes, I'll even turn the TV on to ESPN even though Matthew isn't in the room. One day, I plan to be knowledgeable enough to join their Fantasy Football league... my hubs and his friends are super passionate about that, it makes me a bit envious that I can't get in on the fun!

Did you learn to like something only after your significant other introduced you to it?