Raiders Earning Their Frequent Flyer Miles Early This Season

Last Monday night, the Oakland Raiders opened the season with a 23-20 victory in the Mile High City vs. the Broncos. The 1,874 mile roundtrip voyage between Oakland and Denver was only the beginning of the Raiders busy week of air travel.

After arriving back home in the Bay Area during the wee hours of Tuesday morning, the team had all of three full days at their practice facility before embarking on Friday's 2,289 mile flight to Buffalo, for Sunday's game vs. the Bills. In most cases, Western based NFL teams leave for Eastern Time Zone games on Friday, so the players and coaches have time to acclimate to the three hour time difference. In the body clock of a Western team, a 1:00 pm kickoff equates to 10:00 am.

When Sunday's game concludes, Oakland will turn around for yet another 2,289 mile flight back to California. The four flights in seven days will total 6,452 miles. Or, almost the exact same distance that separates Oakland and Palermo, Sicily.

While some members of the Raiders organization are frustrated by this situation, defensive tackle Tommy Kelly appears to be embracing all the time spent away from home.

“It ain't hard to focus when you're on the road because you don't have the kids and the family around. That's why I like being on the road," explained Kelly.