Being a Raider fan has been very challenging the last 6 years.  The last 4 weeks have been downright difficult.  It has been nearly impossible to listen to any NFL related sports talk because I know that I will have to hear how dreadful the team was-is-forever will be.

So as I prepared to watch the Philadelphia vs. Oakland game this weekend, I did not don my normal Raider apparel (has it worked the last 6 years?).  Since I wasn't feeling well already, I laid on the couch with the full intention of taking a nap should the Raiders not show up again this week.

At the start of the game, I sensed there was an actual team on the field.  The defense was fired up and the offense wasn't completely inept.  I was in a quandary because I truly was afraid if I moved from my horizontal position, the Raiders would lose their mojo.  I watched the whole game laying down.

For nearly the entire 4th quarter, the Raiders had a 12th man on the field.  A pigeon that was intent on eating the seed from the recently laid grass covering up the baseball portion of the field.  That pigeon was on the Eagles side of the ball many times when they were on offense.  It was almost as if it somehow communicated their plays to the Raiders defense.  This bird was not disturbed by the 22 men running, hitting and collapsing all around it.  At one point, it actually lined up on special teams and flew down the field - holding its lane the entire way, mind you - and landed at the point of contact with the Eagles returner.

Call me superstitious.  But I sure hope that pigeon shows up next week against the Jets.