As the Oakland Raiders’ 2011 regular season schedule has been announced, their lack of primetime games is somewhat understandable. They have had some sub-par seasons the past couple of years, but the Raiders are still one of the most popular franchises in all of football, which to me should play a factor in choosing the primetime games. They have been dealt only two primetime matchups this entire season, with one of them coming on the NFL Network, a channel many fans do not receive.
Oakland was given the first Monday Night Football game of the season against their division rival the Denver Broncos on September 12. The first Monday night game usually is very popular, and I guess the NFL figured since both of these teams will still be undefeated in week one, it should provide a football game people will want to watch. Personally I would have liked to see Raiders v. Chargers on a Monday night, but I’ll settle for the Broncos I guess.
The only other primetime game will be on Thursday, November 10 against the San Diego Chargers, a game that always is highly entertaining. The game will only be on the NFL Network, so if you don’t get that channel make sure to hit up a buddy or a bar that does, cause these teams straight up hate each other.
Maybe the NFL thinks nobody wants to see the Raiders in primetime, or perhaps they think Oakland isn’t deserving of the airtime. Either way I don’t like it and hope that will change sooner than later.