A Sad Day for Raiders Football

Janelle Kitayama

Today I wept when I learned that the 2006 Raiderette Edition would not include Janelle Kitayama. If ever there was a Fabulous Female in Silver and Black it was Janelle. One look at her and you would be as they say in Disney, "Twitter-Pated."

She had the Hawaiian Complexion, The Lustrous Eyes and the Dimpled Smile that separated her from the pack. Her presence was like that of an all-star athlete on a team, she made others around her look better.

When I visited Raiders.com today and saw that the Raiderette Squad for 2006 had been chosen I immediately clicked on the image to make sure Janelle had made the squad. You can imagine how I felt when I didn't see her stunning smile anywhere in the group. At first I thought maybe my aged prescription glasses had failed me, but that thought went out the window on further review of the enlarged group picture.

As mentioned earlier, Janelle stood out in a crowd and made those near her look better. The new group photo has some wonderful looking ladies that will represent the Silver & Black well this season I'm sure. But right now I'm feeling the loss of what I consider one of the finest and fabulous specimens that ever donned a Raiderette uniform. So forgive me if I don't show a warm welcome for the new Raiderette Squad today. I promise to post their group pic with a spicy caption sometime before the season.

For today I just want to thank Janelle Kitayama for the three or so seasons she's lived up to tradition and made our Raiderettes as stunningly fabulous as ever. Though I'll miss seeing through binoculars the flash of her smile and sparkle of her eyes come gameday, I'll cherish the many memories she's given me through the highs and lows of seasons past.

Good Luck in your new pursuits Janelle. May you remain a Raiderette in your heart forever.

RaiderLegend