[Blade]

It had been very difficult. Being the GM of the Raiders, I had to be at the playoff game, for appearances sake. As did Mackey. So there we were, sitting in a skybox, watching the game, jumping up and cheering for every Raiders’ score, though we were cringing internally.

Then came that last interception. I don’t think I have ever cursed as much as I did at one person, internally of course, but if looks could kill, Ben Roethlisberger would have dropped dead at that moment. Then came the touchdown. Mackey and I jumped up, cheered, but exchanged a look that we both understood.

Crap.

After the game, we went down to the locker room, congratulated the team, then left for the private air-strip where Mackey’s jet was waiting. We boarded the jet and took off for Oakland.

Sitting in seats across from each other, we started to discuss what this meant for our plans.

“Are we cursed, or is the team just damn lucky, Bear?”

I rubbed my forehead. “I don’t know. I am going with lucky for the moment. But Pittsburgh did not step up their play for the playoffs, and we took advantage. And Roethlisberger killed any chances with that stupid interception…”

I had to stop and calm down. I am sure my face was quite red, though Mackey seemed not to notice.

“Ok, so what do we do now? We need to make sure that we do not win the next game. If we make it to the AFC Championship game, fan support could shoot through the roof!”

I took a deep breath before speaking. “Mack, I think we still need to stay out of it. Being in the playoffs, we are going to be under a lot of scrutiny, and we don’t want any outward appearances of not being a part of this team and the goal of the Super Bowl. Besides, look at who we are playing. The Colts, a damn good team, and we are without our two starting cornerbacks. That looks good for us losing.”

Mackey shook his head. “We beat them earlier this season.”

“But Manning went down when it counted. It was easy to win with him out of the game. Really, let’s just hold up. I think that things will work out.”

Mackey looked at me, a bit of a cold look in his eye that unnerved me somewhat. “Alright, Bear, but if we pull out a win, it will not be good for us. At all.”

I only nodded and prayed that I would be right.