T

em>The 2009 American football championship season commenced on Sept. 14 with the Oakland Raiders playing American Football Conference Western Division rivals the San Diego Chargers. The Jakarta Post's Musthofid joined an AirAsia-sponsored tour to watch the game at the Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California.

The breeze from the Pacific Ocean cooled the West Coast air, adding to the lively atmosphere at the stadium, on a stretch of land near an Oakland freeway, also home to baseball franchise the Oakland Athletics.

The home supporters were boisterous as they cheered in the prospect of an entertaining action-packed football showcase between the "Silver and Black" Raiders and the visiting Chargers.

The smell of a roasting meat filled the air, with smoke billowing between parked cars as several groups of fans held tailgate barbecues.

Another group of fans took photos, while some spectators lined up outside the makeshift toilet boots set up by the stadium.

"Oh baby, it's gonna fun ... real fun this evening," one fan shouted in self-content.

His face was painted black, in the image of daredevils. His friends cajoled him. Like most of the spectators, they were clad in all black, imbued with a silver nuance.

Viewed from the upper deck of the stadium, the cheering spectators and the stationary cars in the parking lot looked like a spread-out carpet. Chunks of San Francisco skyscrapers were visible at the far end.

The crowd was making its way up the stadium gate with attendants checking tickets and performing body searches.

Ticket prices ranged from US$26 to $161.

The cheery and lively atmosphere carried over into the stadium as the Raiderettes, the cheerleaders for the team, strutted their stuff in tune with the blaring music.

With the game marking the commemoration of the 50th year of professional football, the team presented its past stars, who moved up to the center of the field upon being called out, acknowledging the raucous gallery of spectators.

Consummate singer and entertainer Gloria Loring then sang the US national anthem, followed by flyover of two roaring jets in the sky.

The game started at 7:15 p.m., and by then the 63,000-capacity stadium was filled to the brim.

The Raiders hosted the Chargers on the back of a lethargic performance in preseason matches, notching up three losses and one win.

However, the team and the fans harbored reasonable hopes for a bounceback against the opponents who they had outscored 54-42-2 in regular-season play since the teams first met as original members of the American Football League in 1960.

The winning mood was preserved intact early in the game as the Raiders led 7-0 after the first quarter, thanks to Michael Bush's 4-yard run from a Sebastian Janikowski kick.

The visitors charged back in the second quarter. They forced Raiders quarterback Darren McFadden to fumble in his drive, allowing LaDainian Tomlinson to level 7-7 on a 1-yard run.

After the score was tied again at 10-10, the Raiders took a 13-10 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 35-yard field goal by Janikowski before Philip Rivers, whom the Chargers had just signed to a six-year contract extension worth US$38 million in August, wrested the lead for the visitors 17-13 with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Vincent Jackson.

The fans were beginning to look disgruntled at the prospect of losing. Swear words and gasps began creeping in.

"Hey, what're you doin', man?"

"Come on ... wake up!"

"Shit! F...!"

The neutrals looked unperturbed by the scoreline, cherishing every moment of action.

The stadium broke out in a thunderous applause each time the home side completed an offensive move or foiled the opponents' offensive.

"Yeah, baby! Let's do it!" said one bare-chested fan, greedy for more.

The tide seemed to be turning their way, but it turned out to be short-lived.