Davis’ Game Plan in L.A. Is to Beat That Culture Shock

When the Raiders were casting about for a port in which to anchor for annual preseason drills, they learned that Montego Bay was booked up and the south shore of Maui is too darn breezy this time of year.

So they set sail for Oxnard and found the neon vacancy sign lit. Oxnard, the town whose very name evokes poetic images, became the Raider training base.

It turns out that the city has a perfect blend of what the Raiders seek--tropical comfort and a kind of seafaring earthiness. The weather is pleasant, and the official city bird is a parrot on the shoulder.

But the Raiders can’t stay in Oxnard forever. When the season opens, they’ll move down to L.A., and that’s what has Al Davis worried right now.

It’s not that Davis doesn’t like L.A. He risked losing his personal fortune and his football team to move the Raiders there from Oakland. Al has become an L.A. guy. He doesn’t even mind the freeways, or at least his chauffeur doesn’t.

But L.A. poses a frightening challenge to the football genius of Al Davis.

“The culture of L.A. is so different from the culture of Oakland,” Davis was saying Wednesday morning as he prowled the sidelines during a team workout.

He realized this statement probably wouldn’t stop any presses, so he elaborated.

“In Oakland, it took a player years to become a star. In L.A. you can become a star overnight, because it’s a different culture. We’re going to have to find a way to dominate that culture and control it.”

Take over the city by force? Coup d’etat?

Not exactly. Davis is simply worried about the Hollywoodization of the Raider players. Will success spoil (name a player)?

“I don’t know if we were tough enough last year,” Davis said. “We were hurt, our defensive line was hurt and our quarterbacks were not at full strength, but I don’t know if there was a total commitment.

“Eighty-three (the Super Bowl winning season) was a truly great team, and we should have won in ’84. I felt we could have overcome some of the (injury) problems if we were all pointed in the right direction.

“By commitment, understand, I’m not talking about only on Sunday, or game day. We might’ve had individual goals interfering with total commitment. Where we came from (Oakland), we had our stars, but their stardom was based on team winning, team success. In L.A., guys are picked as celebrities or stars, but not always for the right reasons.

“Team achievement, and recognition by coaches and peers, may not be enough to satisfy the egos of some individuals. They may want celebrity status. That’s an aspect of this culture we’ve (the staff) got to dominate.”

The Lakers faced somewhat the same problem. Critics called them the Hollywood Lakers, said the fame and the movie deals and the sunshine had gone to, and through, the players’ heads. They were too hip, too soft, too pretty.

Coach Pat Riley somehow convinced the Lakers they would have to get dirty to win. Remove the sunglasses, guys, at least during the fourth quarter. Take a rebound, not a lunch.

That’s the challenge now facing Davis, Coach Tom Flores, and the Raider players.

“The Lakers have adjusted,” Davis said. “We’ve got to find our way of handling this. We’ve got to convince everyone the prime thing is to win, that there is no substitute in our (NFL) culture for winning. We’ve got to create an atmosphere that total team commitment is more important than individual goals.”

What tactics will Davis use to ward off the evils of the SoCal softlife?

Here Al grows vague. What general hands out mimeographed copies of his attack plan?

One thing is almost sure--Davis won’t take away the basic creature comforts of the players. The training-camp quarters here in ahhhh-Oxnard are proof of that. Most teams hole up in college dorms, Spartan as jail cells.

The Raiders bunk at a decent hotel.

“I don’t want my players staying in a dormitory because I don’t want to stay in a dormitory,” Davis said. “When you analyze it, it’s ludicrous, these guys staying in dorms. My premise is that toughness comes from the field and the locker room, and from within the individual. Off the field, why not try to make life a little better to live? You should live (in training camp) similar to the way you live every day.”

Does this mean Al has commandeered the Hilton’s penthouse?

“No, no. I don’t like high rooms, anyway,” he said. “It’s kind of a phobia. I prefer to stay on the ground floor. I have a small suite on the ground floor here. I’ve got my weights in there (he works out daily), and I had them install silver carpeting.”

Next year, the Raiders will move into an even nicer training camp, at a brand new hotel a mile down the road. Unless, of course, the Hilton people haul the Raiders into court, asking the judge to return Al’s team to the Hilton by virtue of eminent domain.

Right now he’s not worried about Oxnard, this world-renowned tropical paradise and truck stop. Al’s concern is the even brighter lights 60 miles to the south.