Raiders roasted again in Chargers’ comedic schedule release video
The Raiders might have gotten off easy in this year’s version of the Chargers’ schedule release video.
The Chargers annually use the opportunity to roast their opponents for the season as they unveil when each of the games will be played.
The team’s social media department tends to try to raise the bar each year with often obscure cultural references to an organization or market.
Typically, the Raiders have been a primary target as one of the Chargers’ longest and most bitter rivals.
But several teams appeared to take on far more brutal insults than the Raiders this year.
The animated video, produced in the style of “The Sims” video game franchise, does start with the Raiders because the teams will meet in the season opener Sept. 8 in Los Angeles.
A create-a-character shows a Raiders fan donning a brightly colored wig and face paint to turn himself into a clown.
As it turns out, the scene was designed to not only insult Raiders fans but also to set up later material.
The rest of the schedule is unveiled with scathing commentary on things such as former Panthers quarterback Cam Newton’s playground fight, a Chiefs fan convicted of bank robbery and Taylor Swift’s private plane usage included.
Then came the Raiders again for the season finale Jan. 4 or 5 at Allegiant Stadium.
should we REALLY make our schedule release video in the sims?
yes yes yesyes
yesyes yes yes yes
yes yes yes yes yes
yes yesyes yes yes
yes yesye yes yes
yes yes yesyes pic.twitter.com/MXzfAPyhe8— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) May 16, 2024
The Chargers start this slide making fun of themselves as a TV screen shows a viral moment of running back Austin Ekeler celebrating a first down last season against the Raiders in a game in which his team trailed 63-7.
As the camera pans away from the screen, a group of clowns is revealed to be watching the game. Of course, they are Raiders fans.
It is then further pulled back to show that this group of fans is in jail. Posters on the wall include the Sphere as a giant emoji face and a plain silver trash can.
One of the clowns has a speech bubble over him with a QR code. Viewers who scanned the code were given two options.
While Chargers fans were redirected to a site to buy game tickets, Raiders fans were taken to the World Clown Association’s sign-up form.
The final pan-out reveals a man in a suit guarding the cell. It’s “Deputy on Duty” Tom Telesco, who is now the Raiders’ general manager after serving more than a decade in the role for the Chargers. On the wall is a nod to the prison-themed show “Orange is the New Black.”
They also sneaked in their yearly “FTR” joke, as a sign in the background read “Remember, Family. Trust. Respect.” Among Chargers fans, the initials are used to signify “(Expletive) The Raiders.”
In the end, the material was not as harsh toward the Raiders as in the past.
Perhaps most impressive was the Chargers’ social media team’s ability to quickly react to news. The closing credits included a scene in which Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker is hard at work in the kitchen, a nod to a commencement speech he delivered this week when he suggested career-oriented women would be more content pursuing homemaker as a profession.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.