Raiders quarterback Derek Carr says fans who quit after Vegas move are not ‘true Raider fans’
It has been a tumultuous off-season for the Oakland Raiders. They’re relocating, again, negotiating a deal with running back Marshawn Lynch, and figuring out where to play home games in 2019.
For fans in Oakland, it’s been a roller coaster of emotions: Losing a team is obviously difficult and quarterback Derek Carr understands. But being a California native himself, he doesn’t think true fans will stop supporting Raider Nation. In fact, he says, those who stop supporting the team after the Vegas move are not true fans.
“We’re not going to split up like you’ve seen other cities do,” Carr told the Mercury News. “We’re not going to do things like that. For the ones that do, I don’t really believe that they are true Raider fans. I feel their hurt. I’m with you. I hurt too. But at the same, we’re all in this together and we’re just going to do it together.”
When the NFL owners in March voted in favor of relocating the Raiders to Las Vegas, it was party city in Sin City. But some fans in Oakland did not take the news kindly.
Carr hopes those fans can move on and continue to support the silver and black.
“Out of 1,000 people, you’re going to get one or two that have something to say. And that’s with everything,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you throw four touchdowns or three picks, you’re going to get it both ways. I expect that, but if something happens, it’ll be the 1%. Hopefully y’all don’t focus on that kind of stuff because there’s the 99% that are loyal, faithful fans that are going to ride with us wherever we’re at.”
He later clarified his feelings about fans not supporting the team after the move in a tweet.
The Raiders will play in Oakland through 2018 and possibly in 2019, relocating to Las Vegas either in 2019 or 2020.
Twitter: @edmgonzalez
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UPDATES:
1:40 p.m.: This article has been updated with a tweet from Carr about his feelings regarding the Raiders fan base.
This article was originally published at 10:05 a.m.
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