Raiders’ Antonio Pierce wins fans over right away in introductory presser
The Las Vegas Raiders' new head coach, for at least the rest of the season, may have already won over his fan base. Now, he was already a coach on the Raiders, manning down the linebackers, but Antonio Pierce is now the top dawg, and he's the perfect guy for the job.The introductory press conference […]
The Las Vegas Raiders' new head coach, for at least the rest of the season, may have already won over his fan base. Now, he was already a coach on the Raiders, manning down the linebackers, but Antonio Pierce is now the top dawg, and he's the perfect guy for the job.
The introductory press conference was long, but it was thoughtful. You can tell Pierce meant every word he said. He's passionate, and he knows ball. This is going to be the perfect opportunity for him to be a hero to the fans, similar to what Rich Bisaccia is now.
His opening statement was likely enough to win Raiders' fans over. It's long, so hold on, but it's worth reading. Here is how Antonio Pierce opened up his press conference:
"It's never easy when you lose a teammate, a co-worker, somebody that you're close with. We take that very seriously," Pierce started on Wednesday. "There's lives and families that's affected by this, and we understand that. But it's a new day, it's a new chapter, it's a new era, it's a new mindset. What is that mindset?
"It's that of the Raider pride, the commitment to excellence, and making sure our alumni, our fan base, and Raider Nation are proud of what they see on the field. What does that look like? Tough, passionate, effort, energy, and that enthusiasm that you see when we all watched our kids and these young men who are now pro athletes play when they were in Pop Warner, having that love for the game."
Pierce embodies what Raiders' football used to be. They used to be teams that you feared playing against, especially because of their defense. They hit hard, they don't care, they play dirty, they play mean, they do it all. They were known as the Raiders, a team no one wanted to play, no matter what the record was.
They haven't been that in a while. And Pierce won't make them that overnight, but he will damn sure start shaping their mentality into a team that will do that. The Raiders still have a chance this year, especially if the players buy into Pierce.
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