Rob Rivera, known as “Raider Rob” to the fans of the iconic south end zone at the Coliseum — the Black Hole — has died of COVID-19.
Rivera, who was his 50s, according to ESPN, was known as the co-founder of the Black Hole, the rowdy group of fans at field level which grew during the Raiders’ second tour in Oakland from 1995-2019.
“Sad day for Raider Nation,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden told ESPN in a text. “He was The Original. Most importantly, a great man who loved life.”
The section has been re-created in the south end zone of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Rivera, according to a GoFundMe aiming to raise money for his family, entered the hospital Aug. 20 and was placed in the ICU the following day. He died Sept. 20.
According to Jon Turnour, a syndicated radio host known as J.T. The Brick who also works for the Raiders, Rivera was “arguably the most important fan in Raiders history, building and growing the Black Hole in Oakland. “There’s a lot of guys who put on a costume, and no slight to them, but he was so proud of the Black Hole. He lived it.”
Turnour honored Rivera with a tribute show Wednesday morning on his radio show on Raider Nation Radio. Rivera told ESPN’s E-60 the idea of the Black Hole came to him while seeing the Cleveland “Dawg Pound” on television in 1994.
“We’ve had to battle a negative stereotype of the Raider Nation,” Rivera said. “If ever you wanted the best football fan experience, step into the Black Hole, because that’s what we’ll give you.”