MVN: Most Valuable Network

Today was the first day of the NFL Draft. Rob and I covered it from the Oakland Raiders Booster Clubs' draft party at Ricky's Sports Theater Bar and Grill in San Leandro, California. The Raider Nation was out in force to watch the Darren McFadden become the newest Raider. Jarrod Cooper, Oren O'Neal, Hiram Eugene were among the players who were on hand to sign and talk to the fans. Raider Legend Jim Otto was also in attendance, in addition to the rogues gallery that make the Raider Nation so unique.

Pre-Draft

The Raider Nation milled around outside of Ricky's Sports Theater Bar and Grill waiting for the gates to open. The anticipation ran high, would Chris Long fall to the Raiders? Would Al Davis pull the trigger on Darren McFadden who was considered the most dynamic offensive player in the draft? Would the Raiders trade down? The Raider Nationals discussed those possibilities, as well as caught up on the latest goings on since the end of last season.

I spent some time interviewing citizens of the Raider Nation and here are a couple of predraft takes:

Prior to the draft, Greg aka G-Money was predicting that the Raiders would select Vernon Gholston from THE Ohio State University.

[youtube]iSo4Z0UszvA[/youtube]

NikJam, was in favor of trading down, but thought that McFadden or Chris Long would be great additions.

[youtube]yFo7M6Gs96c[/youtube]

The air was electric as the Raider Nation buzzed with the anticipation of which new pieces would be added to the puzzle. Then it was time for the draft to begin.

The Draft

Once Roger Goodell officially opened the draft and Miami officially selected Jake Long, OT-Michigan, the gathered Raider Nationals started gravitating towards the televisions that are located all over Ricky's, and were all tuned to either ESPN or the NFL Network. The tension built as the hope was growing that the St Louis Rams would take Glenn Dorsey leaving Chris Long to follow in his father's footsteps and become a Raider. The throng erupted in a chorus of boos and f-bombs when it was announced that Long would be donning the blue and gold instead of the Silver and Black. The gathered assemblage cheered when the Falcons did as expected and took Matt Ryan.

Once the Raiders were on the clock, everyone gathered around the televisions to wait. Would it be Glenn Dorsey, Darren McFadden, or a trade down. The air was electric as the Nation froze for those ten minutes. Darren McFadden's name was called and the reaction was decidedly mixed. There were cheers, boos, and strings of f-bombs dropped.

After the Raiders Pick

After the drama of who the Raiders would pick was over, several players were out there signing autographs, posing for pictures, and talking with the fans. Jarrod Cooper was the life of the party, cracking jokes and talking about his Code 597 project in partnership with the Oakland Animal Shelter. They all took the time to interact with the fans as they were signing, which added to the overall positive vibe that had overtaken the Nation by that point.

Here at Thoughts from the Dark Side, we go all out to bring you the best in Raider News, even if we have to take on tough assignments like today's gathering. Its a dirty job, but Rob and I made those sacrifices so that we could bring you the best possible coverage of the draft.

I asked Jarrod Cooper if he had something for Chris Carr when the Raiders play the Titans in preseason after his comments about not wanting to be in Oakland. Coop said emphatically, "Chris Carr is going to get JACKED up!" Now, THAT is the Raider spirit!

 **Rob is expierencing technical difficulties, he will have his post draft takes up as soon as he can get them resolved. We will have more video from the Nation once he gets his computer issues repaired.**