Sorry for the grainy image. I took the photo with my cell phone as I came into work this morning. We were stopped at a light.

This vehicle, festooned with Oakland Raider garb; including this decal, a license plate frame and a sticker on the suitcase rack on top, also includes support for Republican Dino Rossi in his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a three-term Democrat.

My question was does this sticker help Rossi or Murray? Did NFL conference realignment make this display less of an issue in this region? The Raiders, for those of you who don’t follow America’s national religion, used to be in the same division as the Seahawks. It meant our guys would play their guys at least twice a year. And the Raiders were considered the bad guys by fans of just about every team. That earned them some affection, mind you, from those who like the idea of a team with a bearded, long-haired quarterback throwing passes to a slow receiver being egged on by a fat, disheveled man on the sidelines and supported by a defense that considered dirty play part of the uniform.

The Raiders won three Super Bowls, including one when they were the Los Angeles Raiders. Nowadays the Raiders are about as powerful as the British monarchy, and they share a similar history. They once ruled the world but now are a kind of cute, little nuisance.

I wonder how people who are fans of Prince Harry line up in Washington in the Senate race as opposed to those who favor William.