This season marks the 25th anniversary of the Raiders Boosters of Orange County. (The Oakland Raiders are the only NFL franchise that formally authorizes such groups.) The Boosters organize trips for Raiders fanatics in OC to Napa for preseason festivities, Oakland for certain home games and, once a year, an away game. Otherwise, Larry's Pizza in Fullerton becomes the haunt—with an emphasis on “haunt”—of this local consulate of the Raider Nation. Walk in, and you'll notice just about everyone—shapely waitresses included—is dressed in black as the action flashes on several television screens. Some Boosters sport scary tattoos on intimidatingly wide arms, while a select few go all the way, decking themselves out in the chains, spikes and dangling skeleton heads you'd find on denizens of McAfee Stadium's infamous Black Hole. It's like you walked into a Goth club and a football game broke out. But these are family-friendly gatherings, and the club goes out of its way to keep it that way. However, if you saunter in wearing the opposing team's jersey, you're on your own, Elway.
