Graney: Raiders fans can’t stand ‘ketchup and mustard’ Chiefs
If they had to pick, most want the 49ers to win. All of them can’t stand the Chiefs.
One has a big problem with Taylor Swift.
Raiders fans aren’t the happiest of sorts right now at the idea that San Francisco and Kansas City will meet in Super Bowl 58 on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.
It’s home to their beloved silver and black. Just not for the season’s most important game. Its grand moment to shine.
We’ll let a few of the more well-known Raiders fans explain from the Black Hole.
Name: Mark Acasio
Fan name: Gorilla Rilla
Acasio has been a symbol of Raider Nation since 1995. He has a few ways of describing how it feels to see the 49ers and Chiefs in the biggest game of all.
It’s like, he said, having your two worst neighbors at the dinner table for Easter. Or wearing a walking boot that just irritates you all day long.
“These teams are my walking boot,” he said.
He’s not angry. He’s not going to waste energy over the matchup. He doesn’t hate. But he will be on the side of the 49ers.
“They’re in the NFC and don’t have as much to do with what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said. “Kansas City is our division rival. That’s who we want to lose. Some people still hold on to being rivals with the 49ers because of the Bay Area, but we’re in Las Vegas now.
“It’s like (Raiders coach Antonio Pierce) says — we’re going to do things the Raider way. We’re moving forward with no stigma from the past. We’re just going to keep moving. That’s where I’m at with all of it.”
Name: Steve Trevilla
Fan name: Power Raider
Trevilla recently moved to Las Vegas, which certainly helps his commute to games. He used to wake up at 3 a.m. on Sundays in Los Angeles, arrive at Allegiant Stadium by 8, put his costume on and be at the tailgate when the gates opened.
He attends, between preseason and the regular season, about 15 games annually.
“I just wish we were in the Super Bowl,” he said. “I have to get comfortable with my couch, because I can’t afford $9,000 for a ticket.
“As long as (Kansas City) doesn’t step on my Raider shield in (the locker room), I’m OK with it. As long as they don’t disrespect it. This is all good for the city, hundreds of thousands of people come here for the week.”
He’s another Raiders fan who will side with the 49ers.
“I’d hate to see the Chiefs win,” Trevilla said. “It’s the first Super Bowl in our stadium, and if that happened, we’d never hear the end of it. And that’s the last thing I want to hear about.”
Name: Wendy Pierre
Fan name: Just Win Wendy
She can’t wait until Monday. Until it’s all over.
A retired accountant and season ticket holder from Santa Rosa, California, she was born in Oakland and has been a Raiders fan for, well, ever it seems.
Pierre made travel plans to attend the Super Bowl until Kansas City beat Baltimore in the AFC championship game.
“Then I canceled everything,” she said. “I couldn’t stand the thought of all that ketchup and mustard in Vegas — so much red. It’s going to be hard to watch. I hate watching Patrick Mahomes, and I hate watching Travis Kelce, and I used to like Taylor Swift, but I’m down on her now because of who she’s dating. That sounds like such a terrible thing to say but … yeah.
“I want the 49ers to win, and the Chiefs to lose. I want them out of our locker room and those team names off our end zones.
“But I am looking forward to the halftime show. I like Usher.”
Well, there’s that.
Name: Wayne Mabry
Fan name: The Violator
Mabry has been a Raiders fan for 54 years. He has been painting his face and assuming his role for 33 of them.
He thinks the Super Bowl matchup likens to a heavyweight fight. Just doesn’t know if he’ll see any of it.
“I’ll be at a Super Bowl party, but whether I watch or not is questionable,” Mabry said. “I’m upset. I’m selfish that way. I think my team should be in it every year. My standard answer when someone asks who I have in the game has been ‘nobody.’ I can’t wait until it’s over.
“I understand it’s business. Like some Raiders fans say — you don’t worry about things you can’t control. But, nah, I don’t like either of these teams.”
Seems to be a consistent theme.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.
