For now they are. If they think they have a real chance to actually land an NFL team they will quickly be back in the NFL business.
Nobody is forgoing the NFL to get into the minor league soccer business.
OT: Los Angeles Chargers
- Thread starter Sean Miller Fan
- Start date
For now they are. If they think they have a real chance to actually land an NFL team they will quickly be back in the NFL business.
Nobody is forgoing the NFL to get into the minor league soccer business.
The mere fact that we all, all of us, not just San Diego will now lose this.....is just criminal!
They'll keep the uniforms. However, I do believe that the city of San Diego should retain the name of the team and the uniforms. That gives them some hope – like Cleveland had one the Browns skipped town for Baltimore (which was also the NFL's fault).
I also think it makes sense for the new Los Angeles franchise to do a complete rebrand. They need a fresh start and by holding onto the name of the team they are depriving themselves of that opportunity.
I also think it makes sense for the new Los Angeles franchise to do a complete rebrand. They need a fresh start and by holding onto the name of the team they are depriving themselves of that opportunity.
I'll first say I am in the camp that is grateful for Pitt's association with the Steelers, all other things equal. It likely saved the program. The way Pitt football was, and Pitt's finances, no way Pitt could build a new stadium or significantly renovate Pitt stadium in the 90s. So moving with the Steelers to Heinz at least salvaged the program, even if it isn't much of one (in the national or local picture). And gave Pitt one tiny unique quality to pique interest of some recruits (fully noting this is just a small thing; it's Pitt's duty to close the deal with real qualifications, which we refuse to supply).
In the bigger, totally hypothetical picture, it would have been far far better for Pitt if the
Steelers had continued to suck horse turds in the 70s and beyond like they had done in previous decades. I guarantee our 76 championship would have sent the city ga-ga, and would have likely been enough more juice to turn merely great seasons thereafter in 2 or 3 more championships. From then, you would have been looking at another Ohio State situation in Pittsburgh...Pitt football ruling the town (continuing to assume the Steelers kept stinking into the 80s and beyond of course). I don't think even the crap Pitt admins could have F'd that up. Alas for Pitt-first fans this didn't happen.
So that sets the stage why is interesting to watch what goes down with NFL moves. I agree with Doc that it's baffling to me to see the NFL so docile about these moves. Only because of precedent it sets for other future greedy owners playing other cities randomly and wantonly off each other for the best deal.
Maybe Old Men Rooney (Dan, Art II) MIGHT be loyal to Pittsburgh and the North Side (though I think that's giving them too much credit). They all will be passing on ... and fairly soon. Younger members will take over. You can never predict they'll stay the course. They also have partners who are increasing their team stakes. There's totally no guarantee they won't pull something similar in the future...if only to leave for the suburbs, but possibly an emerging city (or one that gets its original team poached). And it will be very interesting to see where that leaves Pitt.
With the Raiders deal to Las Vegas already complete The next NFL franchises I see "on the clock" are.....
1) Jacksonville. Obviously. This was a mistake to put a franchise in that city in the first place.
2) Cincinnati. With Mike Brown as an owner, anything is possible.
I would have said Buffalo, but the owners (the Pegulas) own the Sabres and are in entrenched with that area, but you would think it is a matter of time before that abysmal stadium will need to be replaced.
3) One of the LA teams.....yeah.
1) Jacksonville. Obviously. This was a mistake to put a franchise in that city in the first place.
2) Cincinnati. With Mike Brown as an owner, anything is possible.
I would have said Buffalo, but the owners (the Pegulas) own the Sabres and are in entrenched with that area, but you would think it is a matter of time before that abysmal stadium will need to be replaced.
3) One of the LA teams.....yeah.
Honestly, this whole situation is so ridiculously goofy and ham-handed, and the characters involved are so cartoonishly evil and incompetent that it feels like a Will Ferrell comedy waiting to happen.
"'How to Fail in Los Angeles Without Really Trying,' starring Will Farrell as Jerry Jones, Luke Wilson as Roger Goodell, John C. Reilly as Dean Spanos and Rachel McAdams as Goodell's overqualified secretary.
McAdams has the brains and political savvy to eventually straighten out this mess created by how her boss.
However, what she didn't realize was that as she was pairing up multi-billion dollar business alliances, she was also falling in love with Owen Wilson, Spanos's ne'er-do-well third son who is actually a secret genius and a football savant who is going to eventually bring a championship back to the City of San Diego.
Come one, come all to experience this thrill ride of a film."
"'How to Fail in Los Angeles Without Really Trying,' starring Will Farrell as Jerry Jones, Luke Wilson as Roger Goodell, John C. Reilly as Dean Spanos and Rachel McAdams as Goodell's overqualified secretary.
McAdams has the brains and political savvy to eventually straighten out this mess created by how her boss.
However, what she didn't realize was that as she was pairing up multi-billion dollar business alliances, she was also falling in love with Owen Wilson, Spanos's ne'er-do-well third son who is actually a secret genius and a football savant who is going to eventually bring a championship back to the City of San Diego.
Come one, come all to experience this thrill ride of a film."
Maybe this is the next "Anchorman" installment?
"Can Ron Burgundy save his beloved San Diego Chargers from the evil clutches of Los Angeles before it's too late? Also, will Rachel McAdams ever find true love?
Tune in to find out."
I think I like this idea much better.
"Can Ron Burgundy save his beloved San Diego Chargers from the evil clutches of Los Angeles before it's too late? Also, will Rachel McAdams ever find true love?
Tune in to find out."
I think I like this idea much better.
I honestly am surprised the Giants-Jets-New Jersey situation works. I could see that changing at least in my lifetime.
I also wonder how viable Carolina and Tennessee are long term.
Other emerging cities that want to "make their mark" (i.e. politicians will work up the local support to fund luxo-stadiums) are bound to take runs at these or others, and the NFL's hands- off policy on these latest moves will make it hard to prevent.
Maybe if San Diego does eventually get another team they will rename them the San Diego Whale's Vaginas?
The Jets tried to move to Manhattan a few years ago but it was blocked by a powerful local politician – whose name I cannot remember.
It's a shame too because the plan was really cool. They wanted to build a domed stadium down on the Hudson River – just a few blocks from the Empire State Building. It would've been amazing!
Alas, as you may have imagined, New York City politics is as corrupt as it gets. That's how the Giants and Jets ended up in New Jersey in the first place.
I don't think it's a perfect solution – especially for the Jets. However, I don't really see any viable alternative for them and clearly neither do they or they would've left along time ago.
As for Carolina in Tennessee, they are going nowhere. They each have a very strong local followings.
The only team in that whole region that struggles is Jacksonville. However, like Rivals said earlier, they never should've been given a team in the first place.
A lot of people don't realize this but Jacksonville is the second smallest market in the NFL behind only Green Bay. That means that in effect, it is THE smallest NFL market. Who expands to add the smallest market? That doesn't make any sense.
I have always suspected that there was some dirty dealing going on there because no part of that plan ever made any sense whatsoever and with the passage of time it actually seems worse than it did when it was initially made.
That was another big mistake by the NFL and eventually led to Baltimore – which had basically been promised a team and was rebuffed at the altar for Jacksonville – to steal the Browns from Cleveland.
You would think the NFL would have learned it's lesson from that boondoggle but clearly they have not.
Let's also not discount Mexico or Canada cities (though Europe still seems a bridge too far). The NFL itself seems very interested in promoting itself in Mexico. Tremendous amounts of drug money in some of their bigger cities. If one of them would build a super palace, unimaginable in opulence and lucrative side deals for a current NFL team, what now or future NFL owner wouldn't at least explore it?
Incidentally, that Baltimore team already had a name and a logo. That is how confident they were that they were going to get a team. Baltimore had also already secured stadium financing and was ready to put shovel to dirt.
They were going to be called the Baltimore Bombers as an homage to that city's proud war history.
Honestly, that would've been a very cool name. I like Ravens a lot as well but Baltimore Bombers also would have worked very well.
When the NFL announced that it had chosen Carolina and Jacksonville instead of Baltimore, they were absolutely shocked and so too was basically everyone else involved in that process.
It was the worst decision in the NFL has ever made…until this one.
They were going to be called the Baltimore Bombers as an homage to that city's proud war history.
Honestly, that would've been a very cool name. I like Ravens a lot as well but Baltimore Bombers also would have worked very well.
When the NFL announced that it had chosen Carolina and Jacksonville instead of Baltimore, they were absolutely shocked and so too was basically everyone else involved in that process.
It was the worst decision in the NFL has ever made…until this one.
Yeah, you're probably right. We probably aren't very far away from the team in Mexico City and perhaps Toronto as well? I think London will happen within the next decade or so as well. They just seem hellbent on expanding internationally and they are not playing all of those regular season games in Wembley Stadium for health reasons.
I have no idea how they're going to deal with the travel issue? However, when there is that much money to be made, they will work it out, I guarantee you that much.
The thing is, you are starting to run out of markets to move a team.
Obviously the vacated NFL markets of St. Louis and San Diego would head the list, next? Not Oakland. The ain't ever getting the Raiders back. San Antonio-Austin? Maybe. Toronto. Orlando? Of course, it is the NFL and they decided that expanding into Jacksonville was a good idea and moving the Chargers to already NFL ambivalent LA is another so maybe they would think Albuquerque or Omaha.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Germany eventually land a team as well. They have to go to London first but I would guess that Germany would be second on their list among European countries.
In the old NFL Europe, they started with teams all over Europe. They had teams in England, Scotland, Spain, France, etc.
However, the only place where it really worked was in Germany. The Germans, as it turns out, really loved the planning and precision of American football.
They loved all the markings on the field and they loved how specific everything was. Isn't that hilarious? Isn't that so incredibly German?
By the end of it, half the teams in the league were located in Germany because the Germans really took to American football.
As I said, there are so many Americans living in and around London, and everyone there speaks the same language as we do, that it wouldn't make sense to expand to Europe without starting in the largest city in Great Britain.
However, once you expand overseas, it doesn't make sense to have an island franchise. You think West Virginia is on an island in the Big 12? I think you will eventually see a European division of four or five teams. I also think that most, if not all, of them will be located in England and/or Germany.
In the old NFL Europe, they started with teams all over Europe. They had teams in England, Scotland, Spain, France, etc.
However, the only place where it really worked was in Germany. The Germans, as it turns out, really loved the planning and precision of American football.
They loved all the markings on the field and they loved how specific everything was. Isn't that hilarious? Isn't that so incredibly German?
By the end of it, half the teams in the league were located in Germany because the Germans really took to American football.
As I said, there are so many Americans living in and around London, and everyone there speaks the same language as we do, that it wouldn't make sense to expand to Europe without starting in the largest city in Great Britain.
However, once you expand overseas, it doesn't make sense to have an island franchise. You think West Virginia is on an island in the Big 12? I think you will eventually see a European division of four or five teams. I also think that most, if not all, of them will be located in England and/or Germany.
No, the NFL will expand internationally before they expand to those types of cities in the US.
There is an old expression that would serve the NFL well before these moves to other markets. "Leave well enough alone!" The NFL is already over exposed, and I feel they should realize they need to curtail some of their BS not continue full bore ahead.
Oh, I couldn't agree more. Also, the more you expand the more you dilute the talent pool, which further diminishes your product.
This isn't the other major sports which all have developmental systems in place all over the world and an ever-growing pool of prospects.
For example, people criticized the NHL when it expanded and they were absolutely right. The NHL expanded way to aggressively in the 90s and they did not have enough talent in the pipeline to support all of those teams. That, more than any other reason, is what led to the "dead puck era" and some truly awful hockey.
However, over time that has changed. Now, with the NHL set to expand again to Las Vegas (and likely soon to Seattle as well), they may have more talent than ever before.
People have been slow to notice it but there are so many good young and depth players in the NHL right now. I never remember third and fourth line guys being this skilled, this talented or this productive. It is just a totally different game than it was even a decade ago.
The NFL is in a completely different situation. Basically all of their players from the United States and the participation levels at the youth level are dramatically shrinking. That's going to become a major problem if they want to continue to expand (and they do).
Also, the NFL needs to do something about Thursday Night Football. It's just too much NFL. Having a game every single Thursday is a mistake and one reason for that league's decline in popularity.
The old formula worked much better. Play on Sundays and Mondays thriughout the season. After Thanksgiving, spot some games on Thursdays and occasionally on Saturdays. That worked fine. No reason to get greedy over it. That's a mistake by the NFL.
They just don't feel like they know what they're doing right now. There doesn't appear to be any sort of long-term strategy. Everything is about grabbing as much money as they possibly can right now and then dealing with the consequences later.
As we were seeing with the San Diego Chargers' situation, that approach does not work in an enterprise like the NFL.
This isn't the other major sports which all have developmental systems in place all over the world and an ever-growing pool of prospects.
For example, people criticized the NHL when it expanded and they were absolutely right. The NHL expanded way to aggressively in the 90s and they did not have enough talent in the pipeline to support all of those teams. That, more than any other reason, is what led to the "dead puck era" and some truly awful hockey.
However, over time that has changed. Now, with the NHL set to expand again to Las Vegas (and likely soon to Seattle as well), they may have more talent than ever before.
People have been slow to notice it but there are so many good young and depth players in the NHL right now. I never remember third and fourth line guys being this skilled, this talented or this productive. It is just a totally different game than it was even a decade ago.
The NFL is in a completely different situation. Basically all of their players from the United States and the participation levels at the youth level are dramatically shrinking. That's going to become a major problem if they want to continue to expand (and they do).
Also, the NFL needs to do something about Thursday Night Football. It's just too much NFL. Having a game every single Thursday is a mistake and one reason for that league's decline in popularity.
The old formula worked much better. Play on Sundays and Mondays thriughout the season. After Thanksgiving, spot some games on Thursdays and occasionally on Saturdays. That worked fine. No reason to get greedy over it. That's a mistake by the NFL.
They just don't feel like they know what they're doing right now. There doesn't appear to be any sort of long-term strategy. Everything is about grabbing as much money as they possibly can right now and then dealing with the consequences later.
As we were seeing with the San Diego Chargers' situation, that approach does not work in an enterprise like the NFL.
MLB and NFL are both too big, IMO. Baseball should ditch the two Florida franchises. There are not enough quality pitchers in the world to staff 30 MLB teams. Similarly, there are not enough good O-linemen or QBs to staff 32 NFL teams.
So the Chargers are going to spend two years in a 30K seat stadium. I am very surprised the NFL doesn't have rules about the minimum number of seats in a stadium, even for a temporary venue. I have doubts as to whether the Chargers even regularly fill such a small stadium.
Again, a whole different subject but you nailed it on the QB position. And again, you now have kids having attended all these camps from the time they are 10, all specialized, no longer playing whatever sport is in season, but just focusing on football, playing in QB centric offenses since they were 12, and there never has been worse or less prepared talent to play QB at the NFL level than ever.
That is a great way to state it. That is what I see when I look at the NFL from the last 3-4 years to today. I use to be a die hard Football/NFL fan, but the past 3-4 years I find myself caring less and less about the NFL. I am just sick of the BS, I hate night games as I work the next day. I hate how the rules/enforcing the rules so grossly favors the offense, not saying I want to see 7-6 games, but a little fairness would be nice. I still watch now, but I don't make it a priority anymore, the game is not the same to me.
My question is why not just stay in SD for 2 more years? This may have been stated already, if so sorry.
Mexico and London will be huge problems from a competition standpoint. Most NFL players are not the Dhani Jones travel the world and blog while wearing bowtie types. These guys are often from lower middle class backgrounds - or worse - and are just not cut out for living in one of those cities. Case in point, when teams travel to London, they often bring their own toilet paper because the players don't like the stuff that's sold at Tesco.
It's a cool trip for the players once every few years, but NO WAY do players want to live there or have their wives and kids there. This is especially true of Mexico City and its inherent crime problems. The first time a player's wife or kid is robbed or kidnapped, that market is over for recruiting players.
I think the only way this would have worked is if they could have kept their deal with Kroenke quiet for 2 years (unlikely) and then make a midnight move like the Colts. Announcing the move and then staying in SD would have been a pretty toxic situation and attendance would probably have been dismal. Its not like the Chargers had much on the field to attract fans with to begin with.
I still think their best bet was to try and build a stadium somewhere in southern Orange County near the 5/405 split (Irvine). Their HQ and practice facility will be in Costa Mesa (practically right next door). Irvine is equidistant from downtown Los Angeles and San Diego. Call them the California Chargers and throw SD a bone to try to keep a decent portion of their fan base? I know stadium financing would always be tough but OC is an extremely affluent area and under an hour drive from the northern San Diego suburbs.
Just because they are in these pass happy systems, it's not pro style.
But but but... the all knowing actually the know nothing says its good. You mustg be mistaken.
That's a really good point. How in the hell are you going to get Free Agents to come to Mexico City? They will be on the first contract out of there. This is not like the MLB were alot of players are from Mexico and Latin America. The reason why the NHL is such a mecca, even for some Russians who could get huge tax free contracts in the KHL is life in America, especially at that income level is pretty sweet.
I think Mexico City is a pipe dream for the near future. There is no way the NFL is doing more than one offs there for many years to come. On the other hand, it would not surprise me at all if Jacksonville moves to London sometime in the next five years or so.
And it is going to be a clusterfrack.
And it is going to be a clusterfrack.
I would pass, especially if I had a family. No offense to Mexico but I don't think being a well-known American these days with lots of $$$ is a good thing in Mexico. I'd take lower pay to go to another team or make a decent living in the CFL.
Yes... which is why a retractable domed stadium will be next on the Steelers' list, whenever the time comes to play the Obsolete Facility card.
Taxpayers voted down stadium funding but the govt redirected the regional asset tax, as I recall. Can someone confirm?
That was crazy. I guess people really thought Jacksonville was going to take off as a major growth market? It's hard to believe they have a team.
I will be surprised if at least one team doesn't move to Europe in the next 5 years.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/inews....-lane-new-stadium-football/amp/?client=safari
This is correct, there was a vote that failed for a sales tax increase then "Plan B" was the RAD tax.
People think Jacksonville is a huge city when in reality it is the same size as Rochester, NY (same size if Rochester consolidated w/ its county like Jacksonville did). And even Rochester would be a better NFL city if they moved the Bills there as the Bills are a regional draw in a football crazy area. Jacksonville is fairly isolated and the people there have plenty of other things to do.
Similar threads
