OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE ABOUT THE BILLBOARD AD
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 1, 2009
For more information contact:
Jared Staszewski
814-460-3521
P.O. Box 8064
Erie, PA 16506
Raider Nation posts “Message to Al” Billboard on Nimitz Freeway
Erie, PA – – An international “grass roots” fan effort over the internet, headquartered over 2000 miles away from Oakland, has led to the posting of a billboard this morning on (I-880N) East side, near High street. The message on that billboard is a plea to Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis to “step down” as General Manager.
The effort is led by 22 year old Jared Staszewski of Erie, Pennsylvania, who along with several other “disenfranchised” Raiders fans got together on an internet fan forum and decided that they would like to send a respectful message to Raiders owner Al Davis, asking him to relinquish operational control of the team to a Professional General Manager and winning coach who will not be “managed” from the owner’s box.
“We have nothing but respect for Mr. Davis and what he has done for the team over the years,” Staszewski said. “But that effort and our championships are in the past. I have been a loyal fan since 1993 and in those 16 years we (the Raiders) have only had 4 playoff appearances. We are now on track for our 7th losing season in a row and we believe something has to change,” he said.
“We thought a billboard, posted near the stadium might generate some awareness, create a dialogue among the ‘Raider Faithful’ and perhaps make a difference,” Staszewski said. The idea and discussion spawned a web site www.messagetoal.com to encourage signatures for a petition to the legendary Raiders owner, while also helping to raise money to pay for the billboard.
In less than eight weeks (and mostly through a word-of-mouth effort) MessageToAl.com has secured credit to get the billboard posted by their Dec. 1 target date, has raised nearly $2,000 of the $5,500 cost for the space. MessageToAl.com has also secured more than 21,000 signatures (toward their goal of 50,000 signatures) for their petition asking four things of Al Davis:
- Please step down as General Manager
- Hire a new GM
- Hire a “Super Bowl” caliber coach
- Agree to refrain from intervention in personnel or football operational matters
Staszewski said the strategy for the site www.messagetoal.com was based on some political web sites he had seen where visitors could express themselves and provide monetary support for a campaign they believed in. “This has been a labor of love for a lot of people who have pitched in from all walks of life and many locations to help send a message to the Oakland Raiders organization for change to help bring our beloved franchise back to the top, where it belongs,” he said.
“One fan designed the site. Another helped with the graphics, copy, and helped us establish a secure means of collecting donations. It has really been inspiring to see the commitment and passion these fans have for the team we have (and will) continue to support. Some disgruntled fans of other teams have worn “brown bags” over their heads or staged protests to try to get their message out there. We believe this billboard is a respectful way to give this initiative a voice and to ask Mr. Davis to allow the team to realize its potential,” Staszewski said.
The billboard, owned by Clear Channel media is scheduled to be posted this morning, along Interstate 880N, just ½ mile from the stadium and on the east side of the highway near High Street. Staszewski has faith that fans will continue to visit the site to help pay off the line of credit which has secured the posting. “We know times are tough and we’ll appreciate any support of and/or contributions to the cause,” he said.
“We believe in the organization and we hope that Mr. Davis might become inspired to ‘do the right thing.’ We believe he, our loyal fan base and the entire
Oakland region will all benefit if we are to achieve our goal. We didn’t want to sit
back and simply complain about our situation. We want to take steps to do something about it. We can’t make draft picks or coach from the stands. We can, however, bring the issue to light and respectfully request that the organization make some necessary changes which we believe can help the Raiders to fully realize their potential and to once again be considered among the NFL’s elite teams,” Staszewski said.
To learn more about this effort, to sign the petition, to help pay for the billboard, or just to help out, please visit www.messagetoal.com.
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BILLBOARD IS A REALITY!
THE BILLBOARD IS A REALITY! From Dec 1, 2009 for 4 weeks the billboard will be at Nimitz Frwy (I-880) close to Oakland Alameda County Stadium.
We were able to pay for it using a credit line. The creators of this site are in debt and we need your help to pay for the credit. If you haven't done so please DONATE now and if you have donated please spread the word and/or donate again if you are able to do so.
Thank you! This is the first billboard in Raiders history!
Billboard design has been finalized!
Hello everyone,
We are very happy to inform you the billboard design has been finalized!
Image of the billboard at messagetoal.com
The first version of the design had a "Hire Gruden" line in it. We listened to your advice and that line was removed. The actual billboard will be identical to the one you are seeing here, with the exception the actual number of petitioners will change to reflect the petitions to date.
We can't stress hardly enough how much we need your help here. We are way short on the money required on the billboard and despite we are looking at other options (securing a credit line), we would still need your help to pay out the money.
Thank you and please keep spreading the word.
Alex A @ messagetoal.com
Follow us at Sports Radio 910
Jared from MessageToAl.com is going to be on the Raider Joe program on Sports Radio 910 (a Fox affiliate), please log in and listen to him discuss our project and what's in the near future for our site.
The Raider Joe Show - Wed Nov 18th at 8:20 pm EST
OFFICIAL MESSAGETOAL.COM FLYER: PRINT AND SPREAD…
Check out the Official MessageToAl.com flyer. Print some out and pass them around!
Click on the image to view:
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