Los Angeles Football
It was only a matter of time.
I’ve wondered about how to do an LA comic for a long time but I wasn’t sure how. I decided to wait until we actually had news, because it really was inevitable. Having the second biggest media market in the entire country have no team was kind of insane. Frankly if it happened I was hoping it would be the Rams or Raiders, because of prior Los Angeles history. I really don’t want the Chargers in LA, that’s just gross, even if they do have history there and the fanbase wouldn’t have to go real far (less history, but history).
But it’s hard to watch this happen to the existing fanbases. It’s hard to watch Stan Kroenke manipulate and screw St. Louis. The Rams may have struggled to fill seats but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have a loyal fanbase that deserved to have this happen. If we had a perfect life both cities could be happy, but this isn’t perfect and honestly from a financial standpoint it makes sense why the Rams are moving. They’ve only been in St. Louis for 20 years. They were Los Angeles when I was a wee kid, and they were there for a long time before they moved. One generation of fans is losing their team. Kroenke still did it in a scummy backhanded way that didn’t give the city much of a choice, which is what I would be mad about as a fan.
I feel worse for the Chargers. That team has been there so long. A lot gets made of the fact that the team tried to work with the city for a new stadium for a long time and many people blame the city and the fans for giving up on them. That’s kind of bullshit. If you know how owners screw city taxpayers over to get their giant luxury stadiums there is no way I can blame the residents of San Diego for not voting to have an incredible tax increase to fund a team when there are so many other, more important things to fix. These fans love the Chargers but this is real life and the Chargers/NFL had enough money to get a stadium without gouging SD. Having the Chargers in LA is going to feel wrong.
As for the Raiders, who knows. They have to move or get new digs and Mark Davis might be the only owner who can’t straight afford new digs himself. It’s also not like Oakland is rolling in dough. I have no idea what is going to happen with the Raiders. Davis got out-businessed by Kroenke and lost their chance to share. The rest of the owners probably don’t like Davis. Where could they move? San Antonio? …St. Louis? Don’t say Portland. The only people who argue for Portland don’t live here. I live in Portland. This city is not supporting an NFL team.
Bottom line is this whole process felt inevitable and hurtful. It was going to happen, it happened painfully, and we aren’t completely done with the nonsense yet. Worse now, at least to me, is that the NFL will just find a new city to use as stadium bait. Now instead of threatening to go to LA, it’ll be London. You know it’s true, and it’ll be terrible.
The nfl should stay In America where people actually care about it. London has 5 premier League teams. If you need to move anyone, move the bucs. Add 4 expansions to San Antonio, San Diego, st. Louis, and salt lake/vegas/Albuquerque (realign the divisions to east, central, and west). If you have to go international you can move tampa (3 years left on a city friendly lease) to Mexico City (where the highest ever attendedance for a game was at 105,457 in week 1 2005) move the bills from south Toronto to normal toronto (where they played 1 game per season for 5 years). Also travel would be cheaper and you wouldn’t have to radically change the schedule.
I agree with everything but SA, Jerry Jones would go to war over that
It’s kind of sad to see them go, but I still remember when st.Louis was the “bad” city stealing away a team. If it was any of the teams to go there, the rams made the most sense to me. I feel like the chargers are going to be like the old clippers when the lakers were still good. Always second fiddle and mostly ignored. Rumors are floating around that San Antonio is trying to make a push for the raiders, which would make sense and fit the spurs color scheme. I also kind of like the ring of “San Antonio Raiders”. Still though, st.Louis had a well thought out stadium plan that got rejected but the NFL turns around and gives 100 mil to the other teams to support them, so shady.
Surely Toronto is a valid bargaining chip before London.
Well, I think London would be interesting. But St Louis? No. The NFL has screwed over St. Louis so hard that the only way they get another NFL team is if the NFL and the ownership pays for _EVERYTHING_. No new stadium deal, nothing.
And that’s IF they want it. As far as St Louis is concerned, the NFL misled them multiple times in this process, and there are even talks of the state of missouri and the city of st louis having areas of contract breach lawsuits to file against the NFL and the RAMS.
The current debacle isn’t over there yet, and I doubt they’re ready to sign up for the NFL again any time soon.
Ahh the NFL one of the many reminders why we should all actively hate the rich. Seriously fuck ’em. Everytime someone goes class war when I bash the rich I go “They’re rich they’ve already won a war why do you care?”
You live in Portland, and your a giants fan? Not to say I haven’t see long distance fans just not cross country long distance
I didn’t grow up here, I grew up on the east coast. Moving is a thing that happens sometimes.
Portland native? dude! Where are all the good bars for game days? I’m moving to Portland in a week.
If you think Kroenke and Davis are bad owners, be glad you aren’t a fan of Sunderland AFC. Ellis Short is an arsehole.
Having lived in LA when both the Raiders and Rams were there, I don’t see LA football working out. Half the gang members pick one team, half the other, and everyone else stays away. The few times I went to the Colosseum, I saw more violent action in the stands than on the field….
i doubt that’ll be a problem now, the gangbangers won’t be able to afford tickets anymore.
If San Antonio gets an NFL team, I will be upset. San Antonio is not a city, it’s a coagulation of strip malls and warehouses that people decided to settle in. Fuck San Antonio.
In fact, fuck the entire state of Texas. By all rights it should be a smoldering crater.
Can you show us on the doll where Texas touched you?
It’s pretty obvious what’s going to happen to Mark Davis: He’s going to be forced to sell by the other owners.
I feel horrible for fans of all 3 teams. The Raiders hate Oakland so much they’re STILL determined to leave, the Chargers had their chance and it vanished and the poor Rams. I saw at least 3 teams in that area recruiting fans in St Louis. I’m glad I don’t have to deal with that with the giants. We just lose games instead.
I just have to point out one thing: OAKLAND IS NOT A SMALL MART, NOR POOR. The median home price here is over one million dollars. Average income is over 95k a year. It’s the geographical & logistical center of the entire Bay Area. It shares a TV market with SF & San Jose. Yes it’s gritty, but no more that any other big city. The Town simply doesn’t *want* to give direct money towards a stadium, but the mayor is offering to handle all the infrastructure which would be about 100 million.
The problem is, *both* the A’s & Raiders want the entire Coliseum complex to themselves. It’s some of the most valuable land in the entire state. Really, the A’s should move downtown (where two site have been offered to them) and the complex should be given over to the Raiders & the Dubs (for the time they have remaining in Oakland).
Just some insight from a native who still lives here.
So, I was a STL Rams fan. I watched the GSOT win SB XXXIV. I watched the commissioner screw us over when he found tapes that proved the Pats taped our walkthroughs and “destroyed the because there was nothing to see”. I supported my team, even when we were the laughingstock of the league for the past 12 years. I watched through the worst 5 year record of any NFL team.
Now, they’ve been ripped away. StanK stated that he loved MO and intended to keep them there. Then he utterly failed to have any communication with city and state officials, or anybody involved in making football continue in STL. Goodell blatantly ignored the NFL’s bylaws, and allowed a vote on ignoring the bylaws. 2 owners voted to not let STL move. If I ever find out who they were, I MIGHT watch the NFL again, but only one of those 2 teams. More likely, I’m now a fan of MLS.
I’m so pissed.
Hope this is an insight into how safe everyone else’s fandom is!
From what I’ve heard, the two owners were Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and either Panthers owner Jerry Richardson or Bengals owner Mike Brown. Common sense says that the two owners to vote no were Spanos and Davis.
Yeah, I heard Art Rooney, as well. Haven’t found anything definite, though.
Hey Dave, another Dave here!
I’m moving to portland in about a week for a job, where are the good sports bars to go to during game day?
I’m totally cool with a team in Toronto and/or Mexico City but if we’re going to have cities with more than one team, why isn’t Chicago in the discussion? It’s the 3rd largest market, already has the public land for another stadium and the city is a hardcore sports town that would be open to some Bears competition.
Probably because Chicago is so thoroughly identified with the Bears. It would be one thing (sorta) if it were a competing league, like when the Jets came in with the AFL. Bringing in two teams to LA at once makes sense; bringing a new team to a thoroughly controlled market like Chicago doesn’t. It dilutes the product; it doesn’t create anything new.
Why is Donald Trump in that second panel?
Because he’s secretly plotting to set up another New Jersey football team.
New Jersey does not need a third team.
I do not want to see Texas get another team.
Let’s not be too quick to rule out Portland, Dave. They’d have some of the best craft beers ever at the stadium. Also, Voodoo Donuts sponsorships (because teh lulz). Granted, they’d be called the Portland Hipsters or something, but that’s a price you’d pay…
Wow. Can you see the future?