When he was quarterbacking the 49ers, quarterback Alex Smith once risked a fine while supporting his neighbors the baseball Giants.
It does not appear that Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski shares the same affection for the Oakland Athletics.
Since the Jaguars are playing the Raiders this weekend, Jags kicker Josh Scobee was talking about the challenges of kicking on the infield dirt of stadiums which share baseball and football layouts.
Scobee told Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union that during a conversation with Janikowski, the Raiders kicker said he always roots for the Athletics to miss the playoffs, so the dirt infield is replaced sooner.
While perhaps not the most civic-minded admission, it’s at least an honest one, as kicking from second base is a lot easier when it’s covered by grass.
The bad news for the kickers is that Oakland’s baseball team has a three-game lead for the AL West title and a spot in the postseason, and if they go to the World Series, could potentially need the dirt to stay through Oct. 31. That would cover three more Raiders home games after this week, meaning Janikowski had to kick off dirt for half his home season.