For fans of sports teams, their experience is about passion, connection, civic engagement and community. For Oakland Raiders fans, it has become about betrayal, abuse, neglect and brash dishonesty.

I championed the idea that Raider fans should abandon ship the minute it was announced that the team’s move to Las Vegas was approved. The lie that Owner Mark Davis peddled was that a new arena in in Oakland was not possible. That his franchise could not afford to finance a new stadium and that the city was unwilling to work with him on a deal.

The truth is that Davis was offered a deal in Las Vegas where his stadium would be completely paid for by taxes and private companies, leaving him with minimal investment into a franchise that will undoubtedly skyrocket in value. A franchise he inherited, in case you forgot.

Davis then turned around and hired John Gruden back as the head coach, reportedly giving him a record 10 year $100 million guaranteed contract.

In Gruden’s introductory press conference on Jan. 9 2018, he praised the city of Oakland and it’s fans.

“Big reason why I’m here is my passion for the city of Oakland and this franchise and the people in the Black Hole, if you’re out there listening, I can’t wait to see you guys, man,” Gruden said.

Eight months later, Gruden and the Raiders traded away their best player in Khalil Mack because they didn’t want to pay him what he was worth. The team that is getting a free stadium and paid their coach $100 million, cried poor once again.

Halfway through the season, the Raiders are 1-7 and on pace to be one of the worst Raider teams in history. Less then a year after the crushing announcement that the team was abandoning every hard working family with season tickets and every eight-year-old with an Amari Cooper poster on their wall, the Raiders have abandoned the idea of winning.

Amari Cooper is now in Dallas, Derek Carr seems to have lost the respect of teammates and John Gruden consistently continues to refer to the team as the “Oakland” Raiders as if to purposely twist the knife in the back of every remaining Raider fan.

For Raider fans, I offer you a new goal to strive for: An empty stadium. Stop supporting this corrupt, selfish, patronizing and pathetic excuse for a franchise. They are willfully losing mere months after promising that they would try to leave Oakland with a championship on their way out the door.

I can think of nothing more glorious than for the Raiders to ride out their last years in Oakland to a completely empty stadium, and I mean completely.

Perhaps the only better payback would be for the Oakland Coliseum to not renew their lease for one more year and for the Raiders to have to ride out their last year in Oakland playing at a completely empty high school stadium.