Monday, January 16, 2012

NFL in Los Angeles?

Los Angeles is building a new stadium or two with the hopes of luring an NFL team or two back to Los Angeles.  It does makes good business sense for the NFL to have a team in Los Angeles so I think it will happen.  The question now becomes how do they get a team in Los Angeles?   It doesn't sound like the NFL is in favor of expansion at this time.  That means that more than likely a team would need to relocate.   I'm generally opposed to teams relocating, I don't think it's fair to the fans of those teams but unfortunately with the big money being thrown around the fans don't often get taken into consideration.   That being said, who winds up in Los Angeles?   I rank the teams in this order:  
  1. Oakland Raiders - with the recent passing of Al Davis this seems to make the most sense, they were in Los Angeles once already, they still have a fan base there, the Raiders aren't happy with their stadium situation in Oakland.  I think this will happen. 
  2. St Louis Rams - this is probably the only team I could get behind a move for, simply because St Louis poached the Rams from Los Angeles to start with.  There are some lease issues so it's not out of the realm of possibilities. 
  3. Buffalo Bills - if it's about the money, this makes a lot of sense, moving from one of the smallest markets to one of the biggest would be a financial boon to the Bills owners (and the other NFL owners for that matter).  They have already moved some home games to Toronto. 
  4. Jacksonville Jaguars - IMO, the Jags to Los Angles makes the most sense, they have the smallest market, they are one of the newest teams, the fan support is really not there, it's really not working there. The new owner does seem committed to Jacksonville though so who knows. 
  5. San Diego Chargers - I'd hate to see the Chargers leave San Diego, they are an integral part of that city, but they are also not happy with their stadium situation, they are nearby, it makes some sense (although not for 2012). 
  6. Minnesota Vikings - still no stadium deal, I'd hate to see it but the state of Minnesota is making it easy for the Vikings to escape if they so wish.  The Vikings will not stay in Minnesota without a new stadium

No comments:

Post a Comment