They are slogans any Los Angeles Raiders fan has heard countless times.
Commitment to excellence.Pride and poise.
The team of the decades.
If only any of the above were true. As the Raiders found out this season, catchy little sayings don't carry any weight on the football field. If they did, the Raiders would be preparing for the playoffs instead of trying to figure out what went wrong.
Commitment to excellence? Not after a season like the one that ended with a 19-9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.
A win would have earned the Raiders a playoff berth. Instead, it was a season that saw the Raiders go from a popular preseason Super Bowl pick to not even getting a wild card.
Pride and poise? This year's Raiders had very little of either, being consistently outplayed in key situations and setting an NFL record for most penalties in a season.
The Raiders were outscored 130-89 in fourth quarters and were beaten twice - by San Diego and Miami - when opponents scored on their final possessions.
Team of the decades? If the Raiders didn't annoint themselves with this title, nobody else would even consider it. This is the second year in the past three the Raiders have missed the playoffs and the sixth in the past nine.
And to think there was so much optimism surrounding the Raiders as they entered the season. Countless publications and television analysts were repeatedly saying during the preseason the Raiders were one of the favorites in the AFC to reach the Super Bowl.
Even coach Art Shell got into the act, proclaiming during training camp in Oxnard that this Raiders team was the best he's had in his six seasons as head coach.
But none of it turned out to be true. The Raiders defense was solid for the most part, the much-maligned running game improved enough to be considered mediocre, but the passing game, believed to be the team's strong point, was a disappointment.
The Raiders, quite simply, underachieved this season. They had the talent to reach the playoffs but didn't. Often it appeared they didn't play hard and stupid penalties were a season-long problem.