Model Josephine Skriver relives thrilling Raiders win as a superfan
Growing up in Europe, soccer was the preferred sport of Josephine Skriver’s nearest and dearest. But upon her move stateside, the 28-year-old model fell in love with American football, the Raiders, specifically.
“When I came over to America, shortly after, I started noticing people doing a tailgate — I actually went to an Eagles game and a Giants game — I just love that whole culture around football,” Skriver, who hails from Denmark, recently told The Post.
“And then I met my fiancé [Alex DeLeon], who is a third-generation Raider fan, and he’s like, ‘Have you met the Raider fan base?’ And I was like, ‘OK, show me.'”
DeLeon, whom Skriver’s been engaged to since 2018, delivered, offering to watch old Raiders games with the Joja activewear creator, including the 2001 AFC Divisional Round playoff matchup between the Raiders and Patriots, a.k.a. the “Tuck Rule” game.
During the January 2002 game, Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson tackled Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, resulting in what appeared to be a fumble, recovered by the Raiders. Officials determined it was an incomplete pass, with Brady appearing to tuck the ball into his body.
Although Skriver said she’s still “fuming about” what happened during that game, her focus has been on the Raiders’ triumphs this season, which included a playoff berth. When Las Vegas clinched a Wild Card spot in the playoffs in early January, Skriver witnessed the overtime thriller against the Chargers.
“I’m just so proud that we made it as far as we did with everything we had to overcome,” Skriver said of the Raiders, who saw head coach Jon Gruden resign in October amid an explosive email scandal.
During the AFC West showdown on Jan. 9, Skriver hosted a “Married to the Game” tailgate event, celebrating the partnership between 1800 Tequila and the Raiders. She sipped on an 1800 Pirate Paloma, which is one of the brand’s official cocktails with the team.
“That was such a fun day especially because when you move teams to a new city it takes a few games to really get everybody situated and getting that tailgate feeling from the Raiders stadium in Oakland over to the Raiders stadium in Vegas,” she said of the team’s move to Sin City. “And that was probably the first week when we were all like, ‘Oh wait, this is actually happening.’ It’s slowly coming back to that Black Hole feeling.”
Skriver was also impressed by the fan turnout on game day at Allegiant Stadium, commonly referred to as the Death Star.
“That game with 1800 was one of the craziest games, because not only had the fans finally learned to be quiet when we play, yell when the other plays, but I’ve never seen us show up like that. We call it a black-out game, which means 99 percent of the fans understood that and showed up in all black,” Skriver shared.
The game went down to the wire, with Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson nailing a 47-yard field goal as time expired, sending Vegas to the postseason. Skriver said the elation she felt postgame stuck with her for some time.
“I barely remember leaving the game cause it went from like explosion when we finally got the last kick, it turned into one big party and that high I have lived on for a long time,” she said.
Although the Raiders were bounced out of the Wild Card round by the Super Bowl-bound Bengals last month, Skriver knows her team’s future is bright.
“I really love the team we have, and I think we’re just missing a few pieces, but I also know budget-wise, I don’t know if that’s possible, this offseason is going to be a rollercoaster,” Skriver said as free agency looms, with new head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler — both formerly of the Patriots — now at the helm.
“I do think we are a few right plays away from really making it far, but it’s not an easy league, with [Chargers quarterback Justin] Herbert, with [Chiefs quarterback Patrick] Mahomes, and now there are rumors that Aaron Rodgers might move, I mean, our league is not easy, so things have to play right.
“I really hope that we believe in our guys because the spirit that is in this team, and the feeling you get, their team spirit right now is just insane.”
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