San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch knows a little something about having a rivalry with the Oakland Raiders. He played for the Denver Broncos from 2004 through 2007 and faced them eight times during that span. No one within the AFC West likes each other but one thing they can all agree on, they enjoy beating the Raiders.
Lynch was 7-4 against the Raiders during his four seasons with the Broncos and, before that, the three times he faced them as a player with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Now that Lynch is the general manager of the 49ers, he is no longer in the same division with Oakland, but he does share the same market — until the Raiders move to Las Vegas. The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is just a 33-mile drive north from Levi's Stadium.
Lynch's strong feelings about the Raiders go back even further than his days in Denver. He joined KNBR on Wednesday night and was asked if Thursday night's matchup can just be another game or is it different because both teams are in the Bay Area?
"Oh, it's different," Lynch quickly responded on the "Tolbert & Lund" show. "I grew up as a Charger fan. My parents used to tell me, 'We don't hate in our house unless it's with the Raiders.' It's ingrained in me.
"The one thing I really do hope -- I know the history of this rivalry. There's some tough things that have transpired off the field, and I just would hope, just like we're going to go try to beat the Raiders in every way, but we're going to have respect for them on the field. I hope our fans conduct themselves with people taking their families out.
"I hope we just have an environment where people can be passionate about their team but also understand that families are there. I think we can keep this civil."
Lynch also vividly remembers the "Holy Roller" game in 1978 because he was there. The contest between the Raiders and Chargers ended on a controversial game-winning play that was officially ruled a forward fumble, which was recovered in the end zone by Raiders tight end Dave Casper.
Lynch's family was Chargers season ticket holders and mustered up some extra tickets for his friends to celebrate his seventh birthday.
"I just remember watching that, just crushed because with the Chargers, it usually came down to whoever had the ball last, won," Lynch said. "It looked like they had stopped them, but they just started throwing that ball forward and somehow, looking at your dad, 'Did we just lose?'
"That's one of the great iconic plays, but it wasn't for a Chargers fan."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
