RAIDERS RETURN TO OAKLAND : Happiness Is L.A. in the Rear-View Mirror : Player reaction: Lack of extensive fan support here seems to be the main complaint, making Oakland more attractive.

If Raider players were upset or disappointed about leaving Los Angeles to play in Oakland next season, they didn’t show it Friday at the team’s El Segundo headquarters. Most echoed the sentiments of defensive lineman Nolan Harrison.

“I’ve always been for the move,” said Harrison, a critic of the fan support the Raiders have received here. “I tried to give L.A. a wake-up call before, but now it’s too late. Los Angeles is a glitter town where everything must be a blockbuster hit like a movie or the people won’t go out and see it. I guess we weren’t a hit so we have to take our show somewhere else. I don’t think that the people of Oakland will turn their backs on us.”

Harrison spent at least 20 minutes debating one of the few fans who drove to El Segundo to express displeasure about the move. The fan, who took time off from his job in Fullerton to talk to some of the players, told Harrison that he was wrong to claim that the Raiders did not have fan support in the Los Angeles area.

“I’m not saying that we don’t have fans, what I’m saying is that we didn’t have enough who supported the team every week,” Harrison said. “When they are done upgrading [the Oakland Coliseum], it would still only hold about 65,000 people--which is not that much--but that still is double the amount of people who came to watch us in the 90,000-seat [Los Angeles] Coliseum. People here just always had other priorities than to watch us play. For 13 years, the people of L.A. seemed to have something better to do than to support the Raiders.”

After weeks of speculation about owner Al Davis’ plans for the franchise left them in limbo, the players were relieved to hear a letter of intent to return the team to Oakland had been signed.

“I’m pretty excited about being reunited with Oakland because the people there have always had a love affair with the Raiders,” tight end Andrew Glover said. “They never wanted the team to move in the first place and have always shown their support. The fan support we have up in Oakland is all you can ask for as a football team.”

Next season, the Raiders will continue to practice in El Segundo during the week and travel to Oakland for home games--giving them a 16-week season on the road. For the players, however, the travel will not be a problem when they consider the trade-off in fan support.

“Just look around, it’s kind of disappointing,” said safety Patrick Bates about the lack of disgruntled fans at El Segundo on Friday. “If people wanted us to stay, there should at least be some type of group here showing their feelings.

“To be honest, I think that maybe it is time for the Raiders to make a move. I went to Texas A&M; where the fan support there gave us the 12th man, so I know what the difference of having a home-field advantage. I think going to Oakland will be great for us. People will see a big difference in the Raider organization by us returning to Oakland.”

Added Glover: “It doesn’t bother me at all to have to travel every week. It’s worth it when you consider the fan support we’ll have in Oakland. With that kind of support, we’ll be able to overcome any obstacle. We’re going back to the old school. It’s a great opportunity for us to go back in history.”

There is not an active player on the Raiders who played when the team last called Oakland home. Fullback Kevin Smith comes the closest because his father, Charlie Smith, was a running back with the Oakland Raiders in the 1970s.

“Yes, I’m happy to return because I grew up in Oakland,” Kevin Smith said. “I remember running around the locker room as a kid, which makes Oakland a special place for me. I was there last week and the people there are real excited about us coming back and so am I.”