`REAL RAIDER' BROWN, WHO WANTED TO LEAVE THE FRANCHISE, NOW HAPPIER THAN EVER.

Byline: Bob Keisser Staff Writer

There's enough irony in Tim Brown's status as the last of the Los Angeles Raiders to fill 37 Super Bowls, not just Sunday's.

For the longest time, no one wanted out of the organization more. The wily wide receiver from Notre Dame was a man of integrity, who looked at all the machinations of Al Davis and his front office as some kind of prison of the soul. Brown had a ringside seat for every belt of the war between the Raiders owner and Marcus Allen, and he had little interest in replacing Allen in the ring.

So when Brown had a chance after the 1993 season to leave as a free agent, just after a new labor contract was signed, he jumped at the opportunity and signed a multiyear contract with the Raiders' mortal enemy, the Denver Broncos - only to have the Raiders unexpectedly match the offer and retain his rights.

``Initially, I was disappointed,'' Brown politely understated during Tuesday's media day for Super Bowl XXXVII. ``I thought I was being brought back to be brutalized. I didn't know what would happen after watching what Marcus went through. I was skeptical.

``Everyone said things would be different, but I didn't believe it. It took (former coach) Art Shell sitting me down, just before he was fired, and telling me to just go play football and let everything take care of itself.''

Shell's advice was solid, even if it took quite a few years for things to work out.

The Raiders weren't an immediate hit when they returned to Oakland. The team played poorly - the 4-12 mark in 1997 was the franchise's worst since 1962 - and off-field issues such as lease terms, empty seats and Private Seat Licenses nettled the franchise, just as they had in Los Angeles.

``We were losing games and the fans hated us,'' Brown said. ``Then the lawsuits came, and they hated us more.''

Even in the years the Raiders played well, there were disappointing endings, the 2000 AFC title-game loss to Baltimore and last season's ``tuck'' loss to New England.

After being drawn back in once, Brown later had opportunities to leave Oakland but decided on his own to stay. He didn't feel right walking away from the 1997 mess - ``I wasn't going to leave after the worst year of my career,'' he said - and told management he wanted to stay after the 2000 season because he thought the team was on the right track.

``I'm glad things worked out the way they have,'' said Brown, the only starter left from 1994. The only other player left from 1994 is reserve wideout James Jett. ``My relationship with Al didn't start out right. I think he looked at me as a guy who wanted to be a superstar, which was a misunderstanding. All I ever wanted to do was win.

``I misunderstood him to a degree, too. My agent told me in 1997 that Al said I was `a real Raider now.' I haven't changed anything before or since then, but I understand what that meant to him.''

Jon Gruden, who left the Raiders for Sunday's opponent, Tampa Bay, is credited for turning the team around, and Brown remains a friend and fan. But he thinks what really turned the franchise around was Davis taking a step back.

``When Jon came in, he changed the whole philosophy of the way the Raiders did things,'' Brown said. ``Before then, whether it's true or not, the players always felt Al had a big part of what went on, be it offense or defense.

``Jon hired Willie Shaw as defensive coordinator, and we immediately could see it wasn't the defense we had been running for 11 years. Neither was the offense. The whole attitude of the team changed because we knew when Jon said something it was coming from him. He wasn't just the messenger.

``Even though we were 8-8 that season (1998), we felt we played well enough to finish 12-4. We competed well in most every game that season.''

When Gruden jumped to Tampa, Davis responded by giving the job to Bill Callahan, who had been Gruden's right-hand man but never had been a head coach at any level. The hiring was an important message to the players that kept the franchise moving in the right direction, in this case toward Sunday's game.

Although all the Raiders tumult threatened to turn Brown into the NFL's version of Ernie Banks, a Hall of Fame-quality player who never got to the Big Game, it certainly never got in the way of his performance.

This season he became only the third receiver in NFL history with more than 1,000 career receptions (1,018), joining teammate Jerry Rice and Cris Carter, and moved to No. 2 on the league's all-time receiving-yardage list (14,167) behind Rice. He holds almost every Raiders record in receptions, touchdowns and total yardage.

Brown, 36, has had at least 76 receptions in every season since 1993. It's even more notable when one recalls Brown returned from a devastating ACL tear in his second season.

``It validates my career,'' Brown said. ``As good a career as I've had, people always ask if you got to the big game. This opportunity puts a stamp on it. It's everything I could ask for. I wake up each day with a big smile on my face.''

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is teeming with former Raiders - from Jim Otto and Willie Brown to Shell, Gene Upshaw and Howie Long - and there's little doubt Brown eventually will join them.

But if it's ironic Brown remains a Raider, then it's a double shot he and the Raiders should be playing in Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego on the same weekend San Diego native Allen is expected to join the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He's one of 15 candidates, and the election is Saturday.

``Marcus is my guy,'' Brown said. ``He's the guy who taught me how to play this game. As good a player as I thought I was, the intangibles he taught me are the things that sustained my career. Despite all of the things he went through, he was the consummate team player. He's the most inspirational football player I've ever known.''

There probably are players out there who could say the same thing about Brown. No one would have blamed him if he had lost hope that his Super Bowl Sunday would come.

``If you say that, you have to go,'' he said. ``It's time to hang it up if you think you can never, ever win. You have to be motivated to win a championship. I never lost that.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) TIM BROWN

(2) The Raiders' Tim Brown has been with the team through thick and thin, and his perseverance will be rewarded Sunday when he plays in his first Super Bowl.

Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News