With a Nod to The Oakland Raiders, Cal Unveils Black Bears Fan Section

In and effort to package a new game-day atmosphere with a new football team, Cal is borrowing an idea from the Oakland Raiders, who once owned sports fans in the East Bay.

The Raiders are playing these days in Las Vegas, and Cal hopes to simulate their famed Black Hole, where fans once created a fun but  intimidating corner of the old Oakland Coliseum.

Saturday’s home opener at Memorial Stadium will unveil the Black Bear section, located in the south end zone.

"We’re inviting all East Bay Raider fans to come be part of their own little community,” Cal football general Ron Rivera said on his weekly Wednesday morning program on KNBR-680. “Instead of it being the Black Hole, we’re calling it the Black Bears because we are the Golden Bears. 

“We do recognize that the Raiders had such a tremendous hold on this community and a lot of those fans were sorry to see them leave. We wanted to give them someplace to come and at least be physically in a stadium and come cheer for us.”

The Bears, who beat Oregon State 34-15 in their opening game at Corvallis, Ore., last Saturday night, will kick off their home schedule Saturday at 3 p.m. against Texas Southern (0-1), an FCS team from the SWAC.

Cal coach Justin Wilcox talks in the video at the top of this story about his hopes for Saturday’s environment.

Rivera, the former Cal star linebacker and two-time NFL Coach of the Year, was hired by his alma mater with the mission of helping to create a winning program, but also to generate more fan interest, both in the stadium and among TV viewers.

The Bears are specifically targeting fans in their own backyard, many of whom they believe can be recruited to fill the void after the departure of the Raiders.

“The idea behind is is we’re trying to capture the East Bay now,” Rivera said. “See if we can tie in with those Raiders fans — they’re staunch and 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 they can call their own.”

Cal’s athletic website -- calbears.com -- includes a specific link for fans to purchase tickets in the Black Bears section. Cal is selling groups of seats at a discount. Plenty of seats remain.

At one point this morning, KNBR host Brian Murphy playfully asked Rivera if he has any concerns about the Black Bears seating section perhaps becoming too rowdy, which sometimes was a criticism of the Raiders’ Black Hole.

First of all, Cal should be so lucky to make the Black Bears section robust enough to worry about that potential issue. Either way, Rivera doesn’t sound concerned.

“In my 36 years in the NFL, if there was one group that were good, true football fans it was when you came to an Oakland Raiders game. They were hard on you, they got after you.” he said. 

“But when the game was done and it was a good game, they applauded you. I’ve got a lot of respect for who they are as fans. We want them to come in and be part of this positive environment we’re trying to create. 

“And we’re trying to give them some good football to cheer for as well.”