IT'S ALL ABOUT AL LIKE IT OR NOT, DAVIS STILL ON TOP OF THE GAME.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

SAN DIEGO - On some days you might have thought it was over for Al Davis, all those days when his contemporaries and his football team were being buried with matching frequency.

Such as the morning last August when Davis appeared at a memorial service in Inglewood for one-time Raiders publicist Irv Kaze. Davis arrived late and lost his starting spot in the speakers lineup. He was introduced at the end of the program and applauded by some but not all of the mourners. He moved from his table to the microphone with strides slower than his 73 years. He began talking about his friend Irv, digressed for a thought about Irv's television-producer son Benjie - and then rambled away on a weird riff about these kids today.

``I wonder if he's well,'' whispered someone in the audience.

At that moment the notion that football had passed by Al Davis was eminently believable.

Well, if you ever felt sorry for the do-anything-to-win owner of the Raiders, you can forget about it now that he stands poised to accept the franchise's first Super Bowl trophy in 18 years if Oakland defeats Tampa Bay on Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium.

His famously greasy hairline might be receding but, it develops, he is not.

Some will say this is the Jon Gruden Bowl, because Gruden coached Oakland last season and coaches Tampa Bay now. Or they'll say the star of the week is motor-mouth receiver Keyshawn Johnson and defensive tackle Warren Sapp of the Buccaneers. Or they'll say the stage is set for NFL Most Valuable Player Rich Gannon or all-time league-leading receiver Jerry Rice or long-frustrated receiver Tim Brown or madman linebacker Bill Romanowski.

Going for someone younger and hipper, they'll forget that any historic game involving the Raiders is all about Al Davis.

There is no team in any sport that is personified by one man the way the Raiders always have revolved around Davis, who has been there from their fourth season in 1963, as head coach and general manager and later owner.

The Cowboys are Jerry Jones, but they weren't always; they used to be Tom Landry and Tex Schramm. The Yankees are George Steinbrenner, but they weren't always; Steinbrenner had nothing to do with Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio and the stadium. The Celtics were Red Auerbach, but no longer.

Davis isn't what Branch Rickey or Walter O'Malley or Tom Lasorda was to the Dodgers - he's all three.

When the Raiders were winning three Super Bowls in eight years (for Oakland in 1977 and '81 and Los Angeles in '84), it was Davis getting the credit. When the Raiders were missing the playoffs every year from 1994 to '99 (the Saints and Bengals were the only other teams to do so), it was Davis getting the blame.

He has been cheered and damned in two cities - not counting Irwindale and Inglewood - and in league offices, government chambers and law firms all over the country.

And now?

Now, with Super Bowl appearances spanning 35 years (an NFL record for an owner) and with a chance to post Super Bowl victories spanning 26 years (more than any NFL team except the publicly owned Packers), the man with the Rock Around the Clock hairdo and the warm-up suits and the Brooklyn Dixie accent can have the last laugh.

Super Bowl XXXVII is really XI Degrees of Al Davis.

Rice or Romanowski are here because Davis personally recruited those high-mileage stars.

``He cares about his players, and he cares about winning,'' said Romanowski, who called Davis directly when he needed a job last summer. ``I like a guy like that.''

It's Gruden vs. Bill Callahan because Davis drove away a proven coach and replaced him with an unknown. It's Marcus Allen, target of a Davis grudge, ready to be named to the Hall of Fame on Saturday. It's Al Michaels, whom Davis dislikes, and John Madden, who coached for Davis, calling the game.

Imagine the ``conspiracy'' howl if an NFL referee blows a call and Davis' Raiders lose the title. Picture the frozen smiles when the commissioner hands Davis the Lombardi Trophy if they don't.

Davis isn't too visible this Super Bowl week, an appearance at the unveiling of a statue of the late San Diego sports editor and stadium namesake Jack Murphy likely to be his most public activity.

But hold off on bronzing Davis?

``His energy level is phenomenal,'' said Gannon, the Raiders' quarterback. ``He's out there at practice and watching films. He knows and evaluates and understands personnel as well as anybody in this business. He is always asking questions about different people and gets a lot of feedback. (He) makes his own decisions and lives with them.''

It's not over yet.

The Super Bowl is all about Al Davis again.

DAVIS FILE

Who: Al Davis

What: Oakland Raiders owner and chief executive officer

Accomplishments: Has been with the Raiders in some capacity in the franchise's championship teams in Super Bowls XI, XV and XVIII. ... Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1992. ... President of Raiders since 1966. ... Former AFL commissioner. ... AFL Coach of the Year, 1963. ... General manager-head coach of Raiders, 1963-66. ... Graduated from Syracuse in 1950, earning a degree in English. Played football, basketball and baseball. ... Was born in Brockton, Mass., in 1929.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Controversial Oakland owner Al Davis, center, has taken the Raiders to Super Bowls spanning 35 years.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

(2) no caption (Raiders owner Al Davis)

Box:

DAVIS FILE (see text)