If you had told me at this time last year that I would be working for the Oakland Raiders this summer, I would have thought that you were joking.
I recently accepted an internship with the Oakland Raiders’ Internet department and I could not be more excited, but I have my worries about moving all the way to California for the summer.
As of late March, the farthest west that I have ever traveled was Chicago, and before that it was South Bend, Ind.
I have been east of the Mississippi River all of my life and I have never been on a plane ride that was longer than three hours. That is one of my biggest worries.
My parents’ house in my hometown of Westerville, Ohio and my apartment in Berkeley, Calif., are separated by 2,454 miles.
The farthest from home I have ever been was Jamaica when I was in seventh grade, and that is only about 1,500 miles.
Although I have listed all these numbers that have been going through my mind since I was first offered the internship, I have come to accept the distance and reminded myself that there are several different ways to communicate with my family and friends back on the East Coast.
The second thing that has made me anxious about the internship is the amount of work. As a sport management major, I have to work an average of 40 hours a week for 15 weeks. Honestly, I have never worked that many hours in a week, but I understand that I have to get used to that in the working world.
Despite my worries about the internship, I know the benefits from it will pay off in the future.
Earlier today, I watched a NFL Films documentary about Al Davis, the late Oakland Raiders owner.
Davis was a part of the Oakland Raiders organization since its early days, 1963 to be exact. He was a coach, an owner and a general manager of the Raiders, but he was also the commissioner of the American Football League and helped merge the AFL with the National Football League.
Davis was known to be ruthless against rival teams, such as the Denver Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers, and created the “bad guy” persona that every Raider player has embraced. However, one thing that I was really intrigued by was Davis’ three slogans that he ran his team by—“Pride and Poise,” “Commitment to Excellence” and his most famous motto, “Just Win, Baby.”
From the interviews that he did before he died, it was obvious he did more than just live for the Oakland Raiders— he was the Oakland Raiders.
I hope to learn more about Davis in my three months with the Oakland Raiders, but I hope to learn even more about Davis’ “Commitment to Excellence” and develop the desire to always get better and always be the best that I can.
Moving to California has been my goal for a long time and I did not think it would happen so quickly, but I am ready for it. I’m ready for California.
