Al Davis was pacing one sideline and watching from a luxury box on the other side.

The stands were full of silver-and-gray-painted members of Raider Nation. But whom to root for? Snake Stabler, The Assassin and The Tooz, or Howie, Lester the Molester and Lyle Alzado?

In the end, John Madden's 1976 Oakland Raiders played their typical game -- grind-it-out rushing mixed with long passes -- to beat Tom Flores' 1983 Los Angeles Raiders 23-14 in a Super League opener. Score one for Oakland.

The '76 Raiders dominated possession with their ball-control running game. Mark van Eeghen ran 32 times for 101 yards and a touchdown. Stabler completed just 10 of 20 passes but averaged a little more than 17 yards per completion and connected with Fred Biletnikoff on a 42-yard TD strike in the first half.

Jim Plunkett threw two TD passes to tight end Todd Christensen but suffered interceptions at the hands of safety Jack Tatum and linebacker Monte Johnson. Marcus Allen was limited to 55 yards rushing but caught seven passes for 65 yards.