In the past few months, the rumors of the Las Vegas move were starting to become more of a fact than fiction. I have been in denial these past 6 months as I refused to acknowledge Las Vegas and Raiders could be in the same sentence.

As a Bay Area native, I grew up loving the Raiders even though they seemed to have never ending losing seasons. Years that got so bad that we tanked the rest of the season just to guarantee the number one pick in the draft. I still loved them even when they “blacked” the games out on television due to low stadium attendance. I loved them when they were held at salary cap gun point by an overweight waste of talent named Jamarcus Russell that was weighing the team down.

My love turned to hate the second Mark Davis turned his back on the fans and the city of Oakland. The underlying problem with the Raiders moving to Vegas is they will have to play at least two or three more seasons in Oakland. Fans are describing the scenario as a divorced couple being forced to sleep in the same bed.

Fans are heartbroken. They don’t want to support the team anymore. The Raiders went 12-4 last season, revamped both their defense and offense and now has the best team in over a decade. They are one of the preseason favorites to win the Super Bowl next year.

Die-hard fans are vowing not to step foot in the stadium and won’t even think about buying a season ticket package. The next couple of seasons are going to be painful for both the Raiders staff and ownership.

The Raiders have found themselves in the sands and cash money of Las Vegas including a free stadium funded by tax payer’s dollars. Oakland is left broken-hearted as Bay Area residents have to reconsider if the relationship since it is now long distance. While I continue to support the black and silver, this unfortunate news has made me realize politics are engulfing the NFL.

Jordan Jarrell can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_sports on Twitter.