Cal announces debut of The Black Bear section aimed at bringing Raiders fans to CMS
East Bay NFL fans have not had a local team to root for since the Raiders left Oakland for Las Vegas. Cal is aiming to change that. Wednesday, Bears general manager Ron Rivera announced during his weekly spot on KNBR that the program is introducing a new fan section at California Memorial Stadium.
“The Black Bear” hopes to emulate what the Oakland Raiders had with the Black Hole at Oakland Coliseum. The new section, which will be situated in the south end zone, will invite members of The Black Hole to home games.
“We do recognize that the Raiders had such a tremendous hold on this community,” Rivera said Wednesday on the Murph and Markus Show. “And, a lot of those fans were sorry to see them leave. But, we want to give them some place to come and at least be physically in a stadium.
“Hey, come be part of it. Cheer for us, and let’s go Bears.”
Rivera working to rebuild East Bay support for Cal
The push from Rivera to include Raiders fans on game day at Cal is part of a broader plan to grow the Bears’ fan base within the Bay Area. Rivera feels there is growth that can be made right at home for the Bears. And he has been vocal about wanting to see it happen especially in the East Bay.
“The idea behind it is we’re trying to capture the East Bay now,” Rivera said. “We’re trying to capture the entire Bay Area along with Stanford. But, the East Bay we want to capture for our own. The only way to do it really is see if we can tie in with those Raiders fans.
“They’re staunch and they’re devoted. But, they don’t always get the opportunity to tailgate and go out to the stadium. So, we’re trying to give them an environment that they can call their own.”
Tickets for The Black Bear section will cost fans $21 and can be purchased through the Cal Athletics website. The group will also have a special tent at Oski’s Village specifically for pregame tailgating.
“We are excited to bring our passion, energy and excitement of football to Berkeley,” Black Hole Bay Area Chapter President Cisco Ortega said in a statement provided by the program.
The promotion will begin with this Saturday’s home opener against Texas Southern and continue the rest of the year.
“We’re trying to create an entirely new environment,” Rivera said.
Raiders connections to Cal
The Raiders have connections to the Bears. Marshawn Lynch was one of the hometown players to suit up for the franchise in his career. The former Cal running back continues to have a connection with his alma mater.
However, new starting quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele revealed Tuesday that the Raiders are his favorite team as well. The freshman had a standout performance in his Cal debut last Saturday generating national buzz for the Bears.
His fondness for the Raiders stems from his appreciation of Lynch.
“I was originally a Seahawks fan, but then we didn’t hand it off to him on the 1-yard line,” Sagapolutele said. “Once he got traded to the Raiders, I just followed him there.”
