The Oracle Arena was roaring with cheers all night Saturday, as hometown hero Andre Ward successfully defended his WBA Super Middleweight title in front of nearly 10,000 Bay Area boxing fans.
But for a few short minutes, the crowd was booing like the Apollo Theater with Roseanne Barr singing the national anthem. That was when JaMarcus Russell walked in and took a seat.
Russell may have hoped to slip in unnoticed. He made a big mistake in walking right past Oakland Tribune Raiders reporter Jerry McDonald, who was there covering the fight for the Sunday Trib.
"About the only break in the steady roar of cheers for Ward came in the eighth round, when former Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell made his way to some floor seats," McDonald said in his prizefight write-up.
Show of hands -- who is surprised that the earliest JaMarcus could make it there was two-thirds of the way into the fight?
"Wearing sunglasses and a University of Alabama hat and jacket, Russell drew boos and catcalls," McDonald writes.
You wonder if Russell remembers where he actually attended college.
Sports
Jerry McDonald elaborates further on the incident on his Oakland Tribune Raiders blog. "The boos started growing as an usher helped Russell find his seats," McDonald recalls. "A Raiders fan wearing a crisp, new Rolando McClain jersey (No. 55), stood up and began taunting Russell, asking him for his money back on his season tickets."
No word on whether that person was actually Al Davis.
Joe Kukura is a freelance writer who wonders why JaMarcus wouldn't just use the old tried and true false mustache disguise.
