The Everlasting Mystique of the Las Vegas Raiders

Even in the midst of turmoil, there is still something special about the silver & black

There is something fascinating and interesting about the logo of the Las Vegas Raiders. It has been mostly unchanged since 1964, depicting a plunderer wearing an eyepatch with two crossed swords behind him. It is timeless and in a certain way depicts everything that the franchise is: hostile, unpredictable, and mysterious.

Today, the franchise has hit rough times, making the playoffs only twice since making the Super Bowl in 2002. Since then, the team relocated from Oakland to Las Vegas and their forward-thinking owner Al Davis passed away. Today, they are a team searching for their sixth head coach in a decade and have the sixth worst win-loss record in that time.

Despite all this turmoil, upheaval, and losing, the team still has a nationwide fan base and there is a mystique about them that other teams simply do not possess. The Raiders in many ways are a franchise that mirrors their name. They are looked down upon by others, in a realm that in a certain sense rejects them. They have rough edges that make them appealing. They are a dormant entity that has been toiling away in the shadows like all plunderers eventually do. And yet there is still a mystique, something inherently fascinating about this team that makes them…