Patriots Ready For 'Intense' Raiders Fans
BOSTON (CBS) – The New England Patriots are off to Oakland, not just to take on the Raiders, but deal with their rowdy fans.
"They're intense, to put it mildly," coach Bill Belichick said on Friday.
"They're not going to like you, your family, your friends," said offensive lineman Brian Waters.
Waters is very familiar with "The Black Hole" and the fans that create the hostile atmosphere. Playing 10 seasons in Kansas City, he would make a yearly visit to some of the wildest fans in sports.
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"From the time you drive in until the end of the game, you're going to see a lot of different things; some good, some bad," he said. "The
biggest thing as a player going in there, and the one thing you try to get across to the younger guys, is don't let that bother you."
"We don't get [a] very good reception out there but that's the way it is just about every place we play," said Belichick. "That's what playing on the road is – you have to be able to handle those elements: the hostile environment, the crowd noise offensively, just the fact that it's really all you have are the people standing there on your sideline. That's the way it is just about every away game."
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Not every away game has fans like the Raiders, who take their support, and outfits, to a new level.
Just ask Waters, who has seen just about everything on his Sunday afternoons in Oakland.
"I'll say this, the first time I ever saw an old lady in a wheelchair shooting you the bird with both fingers… that's about as crazy as you can get."
Tune in to the Patriots-Raiders game Sunday at 4:15 pm on 98.5 The Sports Hub and WBZ-TV. Tune in to Patriots Gameday at 11:30am on WBZ-TV and The Sports Hub's pregame coverage, beginning at 1:00 pm. After the game tune in to the Postgame show on 98.5, and to Patriots Fifth Quarter on TV38.
