Raiders memories for Tom Flores, Matt Giordano as they say farewell to Oakland
Tom Flores will look around the Coliseum on Sunday and reminiscence one more time.
Not to say the former Raiders coach hasn’t before. But it will be even more so as the Raiders host the Jacksonville Jaguars in the farewell at RingCentral Coliseum, also known as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Raiders will move to Las Vegas in 2020.
Flores was on the Raiders’ roster when the team opened at the Coliseum against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 16, 1966.
“We had 35,000 people and it wasn’t a complete sellout,” Flores said. “The people weren’t used to the big stadium because they came from 18,000-seat Frank Youell Field (in Oakland). All of a sudden they were playing at this monstrous stadium and we thought state-of-the-art at the time.”
Picking one best moment at the Coliseum was tough for Flores. He had a whole list of favorites.
The biggest was when he took the Raiders to the Super Bowl in 1980.
The Raiders went 11-5 and culminated the season with a 27-10 Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles — Oakland’s first Super Bowl since 1977.
That 1980 season also saw one of Flores’ most memorable plays, also at the Coliseum. It happened in a wild-card playoff game against the then-Houston Oilers.
Former Raiders quarterback Kenny Stabler of the Oilers dropped back and was intercepted by Lester Hayes for a pick-six in a 27-7 Oakland victory that started their postseason run to the Lombardi Trophy.
“We did it the hard way: rebuilding,” Flores said.
Flores said he will be on the field as the final seconds tick down Sunday.
Sure, he’s been here before when he coached the Raiders before they moved to Los Angeles in 1982.
Only this time, he knows this will be it for the Raiders in Oakland.
“Get that last surge of energy that you get from the crowd,” he said. “I don’t know how the crowd is going to react. They’ve been so supportive and still coming to see us, tailgating and getting that last taste of their team right till the end.”
Matt Giordano
Buchanan High coach Matt Giordano spent two seasons with the Raiders.
He said he had a great time playing for the silver and black, especially at the Coliseum.
One reason: the fans.
“I just remember the fans,” Giordano said. “There are some great fans in Raider Nation. I had a lot of fun. My wife and I, my family, are very thankful to be a part of that for two years. I think Oakland is going to miss it, but it’s going to be exciting to see them in their new stadium.”
Giordano had a team-high five interceptions in 2011.
He said he enjoyed hearing the “fans heckle our opponents every game, especially if they go close to the Black Hole. I mean, some good stories over there.”
This story was originally published December 11, 2019 at 3:32 PM.
