The Raiders are one of the 32 teams that make up the National Football League, and as their full name would suggest, they are based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Las Vegas Raiders have surely had their ups and down over the years, and unfortunately, as a fan, you’ll need to take the bad with the good.
The team has also gone through several different iterations and moved from different areas of the country, currently setting down roots in Nevada for the foreseeable future. As a newcomer to the NFL and the team itself, it’s important to get to grips with the history of both and learn a bit about how the NFL itself works. This will allow you to better understand the Raiders’ journey and appreciate them more.
A Brief History of the NFL
 Founded in 1920, the NFL was originally called the American Professional Football Association or APFA. It was comprised of fourteen teams from four different states. These teams was involved in its own regional leagues, some of which had existed for a substantial time beforehand.
Only two years later, in 1922, they changed the name to the National Football League and continued to gain popularity over the next few decades. Of the fourteen teams that founded the NFL, only two still exist today: the Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals, who were the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals, respectively.
The history of both teams are covered extensively in the When Football Was Football podcast, hosted by Joe Ziemba.
In 1960, a rival league called the American Football League found great success for the next decade, rivaling the older NFL. This then led to the two merging to benefit both leagues, creating a super league of sorts. Retaining the NFL name, the league then split the original NFL and AFL teams into two separate conferences: the NFC and the AFC.
How the NFL Playoff System Works
Today, the NFL is made up of two conferences of sixteen teams each. These are the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference or the AFC and the NFC.
Each of these conferences is then made up of four divisions—North, South, East, and West, and contains four different teams from those general geographic areas in the USA.
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Each of these teams will play the three other teams in their division twice per season and then will play six other teams from inside their conference and four teams from the other conference. The best teams from all eight divisions and the three best teams from each conference that didn’t win their divisions will go to the playoffs.
The three teams from each conference are known as wildcards and rarely go on to win the Superbowl when having to compete with the better teams in the playoffs. However, it has happened seven times in the history of the NFL, adding to the overall excitement of the playoffs.
Super Bowl (Championship Game)
After a selection of games, the four best teams enter the Conference Championships to play for their spot in the Superbowl. This is the grand finale of the NFL and is a global phenomenon, watched by over 90m people in the USA alone.
This competition brings in a huge amount of revenue for many and also leads many to place a bet on the winner of the competition. Many will make a big day out of the Superbowl, hosting parties at their homes or at specific venues, whether their team is playing or not. This is why people will often place a bet, too, as it helps them to enjoy the game even more by having some skin in the game.
If you’re interested in playing some fun and entertaining casino games or finding a site to place your own bet on the game, click here for the best and most reliable casino games for android.
***Remember that you should only be doing this to enhance the experience. You should avoid placing bets if you’re not having fun and are simply hoping to make some money off the game.***
Las Vegas Raiders (A Quick Overview)
The Las Vegas Raiders have come quite a long way from their origins. They were one of the teams that made up the AFL back in 1960 and were originally located in Oakland, CA, named the Oakland Raiders.
The Raiders displayed some incredible performances over the years, winning their first AFL championship in 1967 and then going on to win the Superbowl in 1976 and 1980. In fact, in 1980, the Raiders were the first-ever wildcard team to enter the playoffs and win the Superbowl, dominating the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10.
In 1980, during their successful run at the Superbowl, owner Al Davis was attempting to move the team to Los Angeles, and the move was heavily opposed by league owners leading to messy lawsuits, but a jury found in favor of Davis, and in May of 1982, the team became the Los Angeles Raiders, winning the AFC West division that same year.
It wasn’t until the following year that they would then win another Super Bowl title against the Washington Redskins. The Raiders moved back to Oakland in 1995 but sadly failed to win anything major during this time. In 2020, they moved to Las Vegas after searching for a better venue for their home games.
State of the Raiders Today
Unfortunately, the Raiders are going through somewhat of a rough patch today. Recently, they experienced their worst-ever loss since 2015 by losing 24-0 to the Saints. They’ve managed to drum up a fairly great roster of players, including the phenomenal Davante Adams.
Although, due to the poor performance and coaching of the team, many suggest that the Raiders are now ruining his legacy, and with so much criticism being directed towards the team, it’s fair to say that something needs to change to bring the team back to their high-status position in the NFL.
Head coach McDaniels has been in talks with the club’s owners about the team’s performance, and it’s been clarified that his position is safe for now. However, McDaniels has openly stated that things must improve and pledged to work hard to turn things around. Only time will tell if the Raiders will turn the ship around and become a competitive player in their division, let alone the conference as a whole.