By John Sarianides
Three re-locations in 13 months is a bad look for the NFL. No matter how Roger Goodell tries to spin it, the league looks bad for moving the Rams and Chargers to Los Angeles and the Raiders to Las Vegas. The moves proves that the league cares more about their bottom line and making money than the game itself.
It is no secret that Los Angeles is a terrible sports market. Like most sports towns, L.A fans are front runners. They will only support a winner. The allure of Los Angeles centers around the fact that it is the second largest market in the country. Despite the NFL experiencing unprecedented growth for 20 years without a team in L.A, the league was desperate to get a team back in the City of Angels. In a span of 13 months, the NFL went from no teams in Los Angeles to two.
The Rams struggled last season in their return to L.A but did well in terms of attendance. The Chargers however could struggle. They only spent one season in Los Angeles before relocating to San Diego. They don’t have a connection to the city. The fact that owner Dean Spanos agreed to play home games in a 30,000 seat soccer stadium speaks to the fact that the Chargers are going to try and cultivate a new fan base in L.A but it won’t be easy.
Rooting for the Rams makes sense because they are the Rams. They were in Los Angeles for years before re-locating to St. Louis in 1995. It wasn’t hard for the league to get L.A football fans back on the wagon because the city views the Rams as their team. The Chargers on the other hand will be seen as the “other” team. They will be viewed as the Rams little brother. The Chargers in Los Angeles could be a disaster.
The Raiders moving to Las Vegas is an even worse blow to the league’s reputation in my opinion because the Raiders have a championship history in Oakland. The Silver and Black won two of their three Super Bowls (1977, 1981) in Oakland. Raiders fans were devastated when the Raiders left after the 1981 season and it will be just as devastating when the Raiders leave again in two years.
Today’s NFL is more about the owners fattening their pockets than it is about the actual product and the fans. The owners don’t care about the fans. Goodell will tell you they do, but he’s full of crap! The reality is, the NFL has out grown small markets. The league needs to be in bigger markets because that is the only way to expand their brand.
Relocation has been a fact of life in the NFL for years, so three teams moving in 13 months is not that surprising. This will not be the last time we see relocation in the NFL. We will see it again and it will be sooner than you think. Buffalo and Jacksonville. You are on the clock.