... majority seems to think that the game of football has passed him by, and that his arcane ideas about building a team with speed and playing full on man-to-man defense is as outdated as his fashion sense.

I have a different take, one that boils down to the psyche of a proud man.

Al Davis is an NFL icon, there is no denying that. He was part of the 'Air Coryell' era in San Diego, the first semblances of a passing game that revolutionized the sport.

He went on to coach the Oakland Raiders and turn a poor team into a perennial powerhouse.

He was the commissioner of the AFL, and so influential that when other AFL owners wanted to meet with the NFL to talk merger, they did so behind Davis' back—knowing that his influence and...

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