Some great words about the the late great George Blanda courtesy of another RAIDER great, Phil Villapiano.
"In all honesty" says former Raiders LB Phil Villapiano, "when I missed a tackle or made a bad play out there, I would rather walk off the field in front of John Madden than in front of George Blanda. Madden would yell. George would jump down your throat. He was such a competitor, a perfectionist. In football that's the way I always wanted to be.
"Everyone knows the wild Raider stories. We used to have this air hockey tournament, and when it was all done we'd set up this awards banquet and have dinner and have a little fun. One year George didn't participate and a food fight erupted, and all the local TV cameras were there to catch it. Ha ha, those wacky Raiders.
"Well, the next day Blanda caught up to me. He said I was a disgrace to the Oakland Raiders, that I was ruining the team. I really felt bad about it. One of my teammates said, 'To hell with the old man.'
"I said, 'Not that old man.' When George Blanda spoke you listened."
