Tradition

There are a few absolutes when deciding on a mate.  For example, in the middle of courtship I asked my Hubby, then boyfriend, what he thought of the name Isabelle.  He said he thought it was very pretty.  Good answer on his part because I had known for years that I was going to have a daughter named Isabelle.  Should he have answered the question otherwise, let's just say these slipper boots would have been made for walkin'.  One of the Hubby's absolutes was that our children would bleed Silver & Black.  To say that Hubby was born a Raiders fan is putting it lightly.  This family is fanatical when it comes to their football team.  Win or (more accurately of late) lose, they are die-hards.  First outfit both of my kids were purchased as they grew in the womb were their Raiders Fanatics uniforms.

If I could direct the court to Exhibit A:

This is Isabelle.  No frilly pink here.  She was trained to have her game face on from the time she was just a poor little innocent fetus just trying to grow herself those fists you see clenched so tightly above.  Hubby talked to the belly all the time, and many of the times it was about the Raiders. *sigh*

Belle seemed to be the Raiders good luck charm.  We started winning!  Winning means, smiles!

Exhibit B:


















The smiles were abundant when we'd win.

I'd like to present Exhibit C:

The indoctrination continues.  This time we're allowed a purple bow and a smile.  Smiles are a must when we win!

Moving onto Exhibit D:

Learning to walk in the Silver and Black.  Gotta get the swagger down.

If I remember correctly this was the year we made it to the Super Bowl!!!  And then had our pahtooties handed to us on a silver platter. *boo* *hiss*

Please direct your attention to Exhibit E:

"C'mon! That was holding!" Yes, that is my little princess completing her first year of training in becoming a Super Raiders Fanatic. Look at that grip on the remote, the stank eye, the slouch, the chubby belly and cheek combo, and yelling at the TV!  She's mastered the skill of watching a game!



Moving on to the little man.  His training also began in the womb.  Once he actually was born, his required uniform was given to him a lot earlier than the girl. 

Please look at Exhibit F:

Literally on Day 1 Elias was rocking his Silver and Black. 

The poor little guy quickly realized, being a Raiders fan can be no fun when you lose.  You gotta get some thick skin and learn to keep a tough upper lip.

Exhibit G:

These are the faces that have plagued our Fanatics for a while now. 



We began this season with a party with the rest of the crazies (aka Grandpa, Uncle T, Uncle Rolly & clan).  We came with our game faces on and proudly wore our Silver & Black.

The girls had fun playing and posing....

And the boys were foolishly optimistic. 

The highlight of the day was the grub that MIL dished up.  DELISH!  Even if our team gets their butts kicked, we can always count on Abuelita to have beverages a plenty and food galore to drown our sorrows in.

In conclusion, I think I've done my part in breeding little Super Raiders Fanatics.  I'm also pretty sure that  Elias has come to the part in his training where he realizes bleeding Silver & Black is exhausting!