How bad has it gotten for the Raiders in their ‘home’ stadium? Visiting teams are now posting videos to their social media of their fans taking over Allegiant.
Vikings in Vegas pic.twitter.com/YmxKuE0bWM
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 10, 2023
This was not just a cherry-picked section of the stadium by the Vikings social media either. The entire crowd was a decided solid shake of purple.
You could hear it too.
Late in a game in which neither team had scored until inside the final two minutes, the Vikings just needed a stop to preserve a 3-0 victory. They got it on one play and just listen to the crowd erupt when Aidan O’Connell throws the interception.
.@ivan_pacejr you are an animal my friend
đź“ş: @NFLonFOX
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) December 11, 2023
That’s not the sound of a deflated home crowd. That’s an elated crowd of visiting fans
This is also nothing new. Visiting fans have been taking over Allegiant since it opened. And it doesn’t seem to matter if the team is playing winning football or not. Early in the season, when hope was still alive, they saw the stadium overrun by Steelers fans in Week three and Packers fans in Week five.
It’s a combination of issues for the Raiders. It’s inflated ticket prices, being a tourist destination for visiting fans, many people who purchased Raiders season tickets as an investment to sell for a profit, and Vegas being relatively isolated which means a good portion of the team’s actual fans live over four hours away.
Whatever the reasons, the lack of a home field advantage for the Raiders only appears to be getting worse.