My initial foray into the Silver & Black tailgate experience happened purely by accident. With Humboldt County's own Rey Maualuga getting drafted by Cincinnati, the Bengals' Nov. 22, 2009, matchup with at the Oakland Raiders would be the closest to the North Coast the linebacker would get in his rookie season.
Thus, I made the drive from Eureka, California, for The Times-Standard newspaper along with photo editor Rich Bickel to cover the game. The Raiders edged the Bengals 20-17 in that game, by the way, which featured a forced fumble on a kickoff return by Oakland tight end Brandon Myers (you could see Bickel right there taking photos of the strip on the CBS broadcast).