Sort of made the paper

[JETMAN]

THIS IS AN ARTICLE FROM THE SACRAMENTO BEE YESTERDAY,AT THE END IM THE MAN IN THE SANCHEZ JERSEY LOL.




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Capital-area Raiders fans ride the rails to home games
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By Matt Kawahara
mkawahara@sacbee.com
By Matt Kawahara The Sacramento Bee
Last modified: 2011-09-30T15:41:40Z
Published: Friday, Sep. 30, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1C
Last Modified: Friday, Sep. 30, 2011 - 8:41 am

Copyright 2011 The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Rimmel Hudson is walking in one direction in the downtown Sacramento Amtrak station, Vincent Natad in the other, and if the two had any preconceived notions about interacting here on this Sunday morning, it isn't showing.

But Hudson, 49, of North Highlands, has on a black No. 12 Ken Stabler jersey. And Natad, 29, of Sacramento, is wearing Napoleon Kaufman's No. 26. And as they pass each other, Hudson's voice carries through the cavernous depot:

"Raaai-derrrs!"

It's about 9 a.m., game day, and in a few minutes Hudson and Natad will be part of a silver-and-black-clad mass filing onto a Capitol Corridor train bound for the O.co Coliseum – Sacramento-area football fans going to see the Raiders by rail.

"There's an energy on the train," Hudson promises, making for the car in the back.

Raiders fans fill seats throughout the train, but it's this back car in which high-fives are exchanged across aisles and chants ring out as occupants warm up to welcome the New York Jets.

"J-E-T-S, suck, suck, suck!"

"To the Raiders!" says Ron Wood, 45, of Folsom, toasting a group of friends. "Woody," burly with a booming voice, and buddy Brant Golsong, 46, are sitting across a table littered with peanuts, shells, chips and several alcoholic beverages of different colors.

"We're not messing around on Amtrak," Golsong says. "By the time we get there, we're cruising."

Both say they take the train to home games regularly, and they're not alone. Capitol Corridor is in its fifth year of offering discounted fares to the Coliseum for home games, and about 100 people use that discount each game – a number that might not account for all fans who take the train, Capitol Corridor spokeswoman Luna Salaver later says in a phone interview.

En route to the Raiders-Jets game, fans cite a few common reasons. The train stops right at the Coliseum, for one thing. It gets you there and back without your having to do much work.

But with more than 60,000 people expected to fill the Coliseum for this game, riding the train means no sitting in traffic, no paying for parking and – for those who plan on drinking – no need to designate a sober driver.

"I have a club parking pass, but this is the way to go," Golsong says. "You can enjoy beverages on here. Libations are served."

Beer and other alcoholic drinks are sold on the train. Riders boarding in Sacramento are reminded that personal alcohol is not allowed onboard, but a few beverages not found on the train menu also make appearances during the trip. Air in the back car gets noticeably heady.

A 20-minute delay for track congestion silences the car for a stretch – "This is eerie," Wood says. "It's like 'Poltergeist.' " – but the noise picks up as the stadium nears.

"Raider Nation!"

"I say Jets, you say suck!"

"Raaai-derrrs!"

Not what you usually hear on a passenger rail car, where headphones abound and outbursts are often met with dirty looks. But as Chris Merino, 39, of Roseville says on the ride back, "You're going to a frickin' Raider game."

"Here's the thing," says Merino, "when you know you're on the Raider car going to a Raider game, you've got to expect, like with anything, you have energy. And when you yell 'Raiders,' it's the energy. That's what we're going for."

The effect is like "getting in the (game) environment, but right away when you're in Sacramento," says Kelly Anschutz, 35, of Placerville.

Anschutz and his sister, Jenny, are going to their first game as season-ticket holders in the same row where their grandfather had seats. Holding coffee cups, they seem content saving their voices and being part of the atmosphere.

"It's like no matter where you're from, what walk of life, the camaraderie of being a fan just kind of ties you together," says Jenny, 32, of Sacramento.

Or sets you apart. The lone splash of green in the car, Ken Rowell is traveling with two Raiders fans, so the boldly decked-out 58-year-old Jets fan from Carmichael is not tempting fate by himself.

Still, he says, the ribbing hasn't been so bad. This rail car of rooters isn't exactly the Black Hole.

"They're just Raiders, not haters," Rowell says. "I expected more bashing."

Salaver, the Capitol Corridor spokeswoman, says she has yet to be advised of any "incident on the train" involving fans on a game day.

"There may have been passengers who feel that maybe they're a little rambunctious," Salaver says, "but nobody saying that they were harmed in any way."

On this day, it's the Raiders who break open a close game in the third quarter and hold off the Jets for a 34-24 win, not an insignificant victory for a team showing signs of life under new head coach Hue Jackson.

It has been promised that a win will make for a celebratory return ride. (After a loss, it's quiet, says Tristan Nelson, 29, of Sacramento. "The last couple years they haven't been very good – it makes for a bit of a bad atmosphere.")

But on the way back, the train is already carrying passengers from other stops, and the mood is mellow.

At a table in the cafe car, Tim Muzzi and his 12-year-old son, Mason, have packed up the board games. Mason may have had a more impressive day than his team, winning 14 games of Connect Four during the trip, his father says.

"I'll tell you this," says Muzzi, 43, of Sacramento. "For a boy sitting on a train ride down with his dad, would you ever have forgot it if you went with yours?"

In the passenger rail cars, people in silver and black lie across bench seats and lean back with closed eyes. Others talk quietly about fantasy football or Jason Campbell's statistics. A man in a Mark Sanchez Jets jersey walks through one car and draws nary a boo.
"It's fine to be able to just relax and unwind," says Hudson.

As the train speeds away from the East Bay, though, one group huddled around a cafe car table is still basking loudly in gridiron glory.

"Hey, did we just make a statement today?"

"Raaai-derrrs!"



Read more: Capital-area Raiders fans ride the rails to home games - Sacramento Sports - Kings, 49ers, Raiders, High School Sports | Sacramento Bee

[dhunter]

you were the only one there with a sanchez jersey?

[JETMAN]

ON THE TRAIN THERE WAS 3 PEOPLE WITH JETS JERSEYS ON,IM THE ONLY ONE WHO HAD SANCHEZ ON.IT WAS A COOL TRIP.THE GUY WHO WROTE IT WAS SITTING IN THE CAR NEXT TO THE BAR CAR,AND I LIKED THE BAR CAR

[sportsreport]

Good job

[Bobtheicon]

Can I have your autograph?

[revnecro1273]

Originally Posted by JETMAN

ON THE TRAIN THERE WAS 3 PEOPLE WITH JETS JERSEYS ON,IM THE ONLY ONE WHO HAD SANCHEZ ON.IT WAS A COOL TRIP.THE GUY WHO WROTE IT WAS SITTING IN THE CAR NEXT TO THE BAR CAR,AND I LIKED THE BAR CAR

you walked through every car?

[satchel27]

Originally Posted by Bobtheicon

Can I have your autograph?

on the jersey?

[Steel]

Your to popular to live in Cali any longer.