On The Passing Steeler's Icon Dan Rooney, NFL Will Change, LINK!

[CaptainSidneyReilly]

Article talking how the Rooney Old School Owners will diminish and New Money Owners will want to remove Rules, Salary Caps, and Free Agency rules to buy, pay, and select what Players they want to win Super Bowls and relocate Clubs to gain more money to do it. Shared Competitive Rules will no longer be the norm slowly eroding sooner or later.
Articles & Excerpts:
NFL's revenue gap could drive more relocation
The gap between rich and poor teams in the NFL has gotten so wide in recent years that three of the underprivileged franchises have taken drastic action: In the past 15 months, the St. Louis Rams, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders all decided to leave their home markets and move to cities that offered better stadiums and more local revenue potential. By 2030, several more of the NFL’s low-revenue teams might face the same pressure: Do they risk shrinking financial margins as costs go up for all teams with rising player salaries? Or do they relocate to where they can better keep up with teams that have bigger markets or better stadiums?...........
LINK;
http://www.commercialappeal.com/sto...as-vegas-chargers-los-angeles-rams/100611932/

 

[Pitt79]

I'm old enough that I've been a huge Steelers fan since 1969 when Chuck Noll was hired. I relocated out of Pittsburgh in 1992, so I haven't been in the same city as them for a quarter century anyways. My thing is, I'll still be a Steelers fan even if they ever did relocate. I don't think they will, but you never know.

 

[Revenge Of The Noise]

I'm old enough that I've been a huge Steelers fan since 1969 when Chuck Noll was hired. I relocated out of Pittsburgh in 1992, so I haven't been in the same city as them for a quarter century anyways. My thing is, I'll still be a Steelers fan even if they ever did relocate. I don't think they will, but you never know.

I guess I could see why a person who moves would still follow their hometown team. But I definitely don't see continuing to follow them if the team departed. It's a tenuous enough connection as it is ... I don't have ownership. I don't work for them. I don't own a bar or liquor distributor or merchandise store (meaning that my biz would benefit personally from their success). I know/knew a couple guys who played for them on a friendly basis, but not currently. Other than the geography there is no real reason I'd follow them zealously. Even with that, very few of the players, and often none, are local guys. Geez, half the Penguins aren't even Americans. And of course, the Steelers almost seem to go out of their way to avoid Pitt players.

With no NBA team in town, I don't follow it in the slightest. If the Pirates, Steelers or Pens left, that would pretty much end my interest in them.

With Pitt, I don't have tremendous reasons to follow either, but at least have a couple of Pitt degrees, as do my wife and other family members. And stupid as it is (and it's very very stupid, since these players and coaches are not remotely interested in academics), in our sports-crazed society, how a school (and it's grads) is regarded gets some bump (or dump) from how well it's sports perform. Duke is a fine school by itself but becomes "DUKE!" in its national rep because of basketball, for example (and it's grads reap that benefit). Pitt absolutely is looked at as kind of crap locally at least in part because we have downtrodden sports (much of the time). I think it's not a big impact, but it's undeniably real. So at least that gives a bit of a real stake to the followers of the teams (and why I donate and attend).

 

[Pitt79]

Duke is a fine school by itself but becomes "DUKE!" in its national rep because of basketball, for example (and it's grads reap that benefit).

And Steelers are to the NFL, like Duke is to the NCAA Basketball, I could still follow them.

 

[Revenge Of The Noise]

And Steelers are to the NFL, like Duke is to the NCAA Basketball, I could still follow them.

Even if they left Pittsburgh too? That's fine, different strokes n' at. But I need at least some tangible personal connection. Same-city alone is actually almost embarrassing when it's the only thing to cite, but at least it's something. That interest is even waning as the years go by. Because I have more of a stake in Pitt (as symbolic as it is), that is still fairly strong.

Flip side, it's interesting to me when some cite that they don't follow Pitt football any more after it left campus, and moved a whopping 2 and a half miles or whatever, down the river. If they're truly being honest about this, that's EXTREME geographical association. As I've mentioned in other threads to posters bemoaning off campus stadia, it's the University of Pittsburgh, not Oakland.

Similarly, I've seen your other posts proclaiming how important tailgating is to you to enjoy games, so I'll ask this ... how do you rectify your deep admiration for the Steelers with the fact that they are the primary reason tailgating is rapidly disappearing in the North Shore? Tailgaters are sworn enemies of the Steelers. It truly won't be a surprise if every surface lot, even Gold One ultimately, in the NS eventually is replaced by a structure or business that the Steelers get a cut of. Sure, the city wants this as well, but the Rooneys (and partners) know their fans largely hate this, and if they REALLY were these great fan-first owners who motivate people to line up and sob at their funerals, they'd maintain most of the surface tailgating, and the city would have to suck it up because they rule the city.

I know some will be outraged that I dare mention this (especially during this Period of Mourning for King Dan), so let me stress I'm NOT blaming them, or "blocking progress" or whatever pap you wanna throw at me. I'd leverage my power for every nickel too if I had it, just like them. I don't even blame Nutting either for his even bigger shafting of the gullible populace...hey, he's following the rules. But this is the truth, and I just wonder how some rationalize it.

 

[Piranha]

I guess I could see why a person who moves would still follow their hometown team. But I definitely don't see continuing to follow them if the team departed. It's a tenuous enough connection as it is ... I don't have ownership. I don't work for them. I don't own a bar or liquor distributor or merchandise store (meaning that my biz would benefit personally from their success). I know/knew a couple guys who played for them on a friendly basis, but not currently. Other than the geography there is no real reason I'd follow them zealously. Even with that, very few of the players, and often none, are local guys. Geez, half the Penguins aren't even Americans. And of course, the Steelers almost seem to go out of their way to avoid Pitt players.

With no NBA team in town, I don't follow it in the slightest. If the Pirates, Steelers or Pens left, that would pretty much end my interest in them.

With Pitt, I don't have tremendous reasons to follow either, but at least have a couple of Pitt degrees, as do my wife and other family members. And stupid as it is (and it's very very stupid, since these players and coaches are not remotely interested in academics), in our sports-crazed society, how a school (and it's grads) is regarded gets some bump (or dump) from how well it's sports perform. Duke is a fine school by itself but becomes "DUKE!" in its national rep because of basketball, for example (and it's grads reap that benefit). Pitt absolutely is looked at as kind of crap locally at least in part because we have downtrodden sports (much of the time). I think it's not a big impact, but it's undeniably real. So at least that gives a bit of a real stake to the followers of the teams (and why I donate and attend).

Pitt is looked down upon because of the negative spinning PS media in this town, and Pitt's own alumni who either do not care or are always complaining.

 

[restonpanther]

Well the question becomes what market/city that doesn't have a team more attractive than Pittsburgh. Same thing with any other "low revenue" team. The NFL put two teams in LA so they lost the ability to use the threat to move there. I guess if San Diego offers a free stadium and lots of other $$$sthat PGH can't that may entice them, but there are a few other teams that are in worse shape than the Steelers financially.

 

[Revenge Of The Noise]

Pitt is looked down upon because of the negative spinning PS media in this town, and Pitt's own alumni who either do not care or are always complaining.

Many of the media certainly have an agenda, especially those with PS backgrounds. But that's not ALL of them. For most, ultimately their favorite color is green, not blue/white.

If Pitt won, and I mean in serious "F-U" fashion, multiple championships over decades like the Steelers and Pens, the populace would similarly love Pitt and the media would be forced to kiss our ass ... just like they do the Steelers and Pens. Down deep, most of the reporters don't really like those guys. Think they like having to run every last critique of the Steelers past a censor? Or kowtowing to Mario Lemieux? He was a notorious jerk to the media as a player.

The thing is, those other teams (as well as PSU) don't even have to win all the time. PSU barely wins more than us on average in the past couple decades. But they've won just ENOUGH, or at least have been in the running, to keep fan devotion percolating. Pitt wouldn't even have to win it all, everytime either. But win SOMETHING, SOMETIME, for God's sake.

 

[Pitt79]

Similarly, I've seen your other posts proclaiming how important tailgating is to you to enjoy games, so I'll ask this ... how do you rectify your deep admiration for the Steelers with the fact that they are the primary reason tailgating is rapidly disappearing in the North Shore? Tailgaters are sworn enemies of the Steelers.

I'd still love the team, just wouldn't go anymore. Just watch on TV.

 

[happjack]

I hate articles like these since drumming up the fear of re-location is sorta moot since there's no legit cities left for a NFL team to move too.

New York and LA are not getting a third franchise same with Chicago getting a second.

San Diego isn't going to pony up money for a stadium and the Chargers/Rams would block any team from moving there since it's now their secondary market. Also take into account that the NFL and Spanos wanted the new stadium downtown as part of the convention center which makes it an even more no go.

St. Louis isn't getting a third team and they can't even figure out how to fund a soccer stadium that's a 1/4 the size of an NFL stadium.

Toronto would need someone to pay the full cost of the stadium and somehow find land to build it on plus they sorta failed with their tryout with Bills games a few years ago.

London will be used to scare cities but no team is moving over there for many many reasons.

San Antonio would be another Jacksonville and the Cowboys and Texans would do everything they can to block it. Also who's going to pay for it?

Sacramento would have made a play for the Raiders if they were interested in a NFL team.

Orlando, Omaha, Salt Lake City, Raleigh and Memphis would be a parallel move or step down for most of the teams in the league.

Las Vegas is going to be the last city duped by the NFL into paying for a stadium, there's nowhere in the US and Canada that's going to offer up at minimum $750 million to a billionaire to help pay for a stadium that'll be used 15 times a year tops.