Oakland Raiders

The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football franchise based in Oakland, California. The Raiders began playing in 1960 as a member of the American Football League (AFL); they have been a member of the National Football League (NFL) since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger. The Raiders compete in the NFL as a club member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. As of the start of the team's 2015 season, the Raiders have an all-time regular season record of 437–388–11, with a playoff record of 25–18.

In the club's first three seasons (1960–1962), the team struggled both on and off the field. In 1963, the Raiders appointed eventual owner/general manager Al Davis to the position of head coach. Under Davis' guidance, the team's fortunes improved dramatically. In 1967, the Raiders reached the postseason for the first time; they went on to win their first, and only, AFL title that year by beating the Houston Oilers in the Championship Game, but they were defeated by the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II.

National Football League

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, and the highest professional level of American football in the world. The NFL's 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing sixteen games and having one bye week. Following the conclusion of the regular season, six teams from each conference (four division winners and two wild card teams) advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Super Bowl, played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.

The NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association (APFA) before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1923 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League (AFL) in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season; the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance (67,591) of any professional sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. The Super Bowl is among the biggest club sporting events in the world and individual Super Bowl games account for many of the most watched television programs in American history, all occupying the Nielsen's Top 5 tally of the all-time most watched U.S. television broadcasts by 2015. The NFL's executive officer is the commissioner, who has broad authority in governing the league.

Marshawn Lynch

Marshawn Terrell Lynch (born April 22, 1986) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks. He retired at the end of the 2015-2016 season. He was drafted by the Bills in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at California, where he became the school's second all-time career rusher.

Lynch was nicknamed "Beast Mode" for his aggressive running style, propensity for breaking tackles, and consistent ability to run over defenders.

Early life

Lynch grew up in Oakland, California, with his three siblings. He was raised by his mother Delisa, who once held a 200-meter track record at Oakland Technical High School, the school that Marshawn Lynch later attended.

High school

At Oakland Technical, Lynch was a four-sport star in football, basketball, track and wrestling. In his 2003 season, Lynch amassed 1,722 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns in only eight regular season games, and an additional 375 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in two postseason games. He was voted a PrepStar and SuperPrep All-American and was also voted the San Francisco East Bay Player of the Year. In basketball, he played on the Oakland Tech's team alongside future Cal star Leon Powe. Lynch took his team to the state semi-finals.

Jon Gruden

Jon David Gruden (born August 17, 1963) is an American former college football player and professional coach. He was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, winning Super Bowl XXXVII in his first year with the Buccaneers (defeating the Raiders, his former team that traded him to Tampa Bay the previous off-season). At the time, Gruden was the youngest head coach ever to win a Super Bowl at age 39 years, 5 months and 9 days

Early life

Gruden was born on August 17, 1963, in Sandusky, Ohio. His father, Jim, later served as a professional football regional scout, running backs coach and director of player personnel for the Tampa Bay Bucs. His brother, Jay, played and coached in the Arena Football League, and is now the head coach of the Washington Redskins. His other brother, James, became a radiologist at the Mayo Clinic.

While growing up in Sandusky, Gruden was a Cleveland Browns fan. He was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. When he was 15, Gruden attended Clay High School in South Bend, Indiana, while his father, Jim, served as an assistant to Dan Devine at the University of Notre Dame. After graduating from high school in 1981, Gruden attended Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio. After one year, he transferred to the University of Dayton and lived at 3 Evanston (The Gateway), where he was a three-year letterman and backup quarterback for the Flyers under coach Mike Kelly. Gruden never saw much playing time, but the Flyers posted a 24–7 record during his three seasons at UD. Gruden graduated with a degree in communications in 1985.

Oakland, California

Oakland /ˈoʊklənd/ is a major West Coast port city in the U.S. state of California. Oakland is the third largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, the eighth-largest city in California, and the 45th-largest city in the U.S. with a population of 413,775 as of 2014. It serves as a trade center for the San Francisco Bay Area; its Port of Oakland is the busiest port for San Francisco Bay, all of Northern California, and fifth busiest in the United States. Incorporated in 1852, Oakland is the county seat of Alameda County. It is also the principal city of the Bay Area Region known as the East Bay. The city is situated directly across the bay, six miles (9.7 km) east of San Francisco.

Oakland's territory covers what was once a mosaic of coastal terrace prairie, oak woodland, and north coastal scrub. Its land served as a rich resource when its hillside oak and redwood timber were logged to build San Francisco, and Oakland's fertile flatland soils helped it become a prolific agricultural region. In the late 1860s, Oakland was selected as the western terminal of the Transcontinental Railroad. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many San Franciscans relocated to Oakland, enlarging the city's population, increasing its housing stock and improving its infrastructure. It continued to grow in the 20th century with its busy port, shipyards, and a thriving automobile manufacturing industry.