Raiders and Chargers propose Shared Stadium Plan in Carson

[Fountain City Blues]

I can't even believe people even have the idea to move the Raiders to the NFC. Did people forget the work Al Davis did to merge the AFL with the NFL? It will be a disgrace to the history of this league. Al Davis will come back from the dead, like he done before, to kill his son for even thinking of that bullshit.

Mark provided the embers for this in October it looks like:

http://www.axs.com/news/oakland-raiders-owner-proposes-nfc-switch-in-order-to-move-team-to-l-a-22937

I think most fans would prefer to move the Chargers if push comes to shove, but if the Raiders are willing to move to the NFC to ensure this happens, it's going to happen. I think it's ridiculous that this is coming up for a move to LA, personally... it's not like the Raiders would be moving to Brooklyn or something like that. Really is a slap to the to the people who liked the old AFL games.

 

[LucklessPadresFan]

I think at this point the Charger ownership is blowing smoke in order to force the city of San Diego to step up and get a stadium deal done. I really don't see the Chargers leaving San Diego. Far more likely the Raiders and/or the Rams head to L.A.

 

[WizardHawk]

Seahawks/49ers rivalry? Not sure I would say that is some classic rivalry at this time. They have had a good 2-3 year run here but beyond that really not much to speak of. Now the idea of moving the Raiders to the NFC West to me is what sounds ridiculous when you have years upon years of hated rivalry between the Broncos/Raiders and Chiefs/Raiders. Those go way back and that to me would be the more difficult idea of who is moving. Throw in Seattle has been a part of the AFC West before so it wouldn't be that big of a deal in my book to move them back.

When was the last time a good team was moved to a different conference in any of the major sports?

The reason it would be more likely the Rams to move than Seattle is the Seahawks are on a roll and there is no way they want the backlash over possibly disrupting that by forcing such a large change on the organization right now.

If you move the Rams to the AFCW you give KC a regional rivalry that cuts down on travel for both teams.

Also the Rams had it in their movement agreement that they aren't as isolated from conference swapping as other teams after they relocated.

You can say it's no big deal to move Seattle back, but I'd say (and so would the organization) that Seattle has already taken one for the league and moved once. It's someone else's turn.

 

[UVA_Guy81]

When was the last time a good team was moved to a different conference in any of the major sports?

The reason it would be more likely the Rams to move than Seattle is the Seahawks are on a roll and there is no way they want the backlash over possibly disrupting that by forcing such a large change on the organization right now.

If you move the Rams to the AFCW you give KC a regional rivalry that cuts down on travel for both teams.

Also the Rams had it in their movement agreement that they aren't as isolated from conference swapping as other teams after they relocated.

You can say it's no big deal to move Seattle back, but I'd say (and so would the organization) that Seattle has already taken one for the league and moved once. It's someone else's turn.

I'm not sure if I speak for any other Rams fans on here but I think that they'd like to keep the rivalry with San Francisco. The Cardinals can always get moved over to the AFC West if the Chargers or Raiders get switched to the NFC West.

 

[WizardHawk]

I'm not sure if I speak for any other Rams fans on here but I think that they'd like to keep the rivalry with San Francisco. The Cardinals can always get moved over to the AFC West if the Chargers or Raiders get switched to the NFC West.

It's nothing personal and not something I'm for or against. I think it's more about Seattle not being moved AGAIN than who they would move instead.

I just don't recall seeing a playoff caliber team being moved. Hell, MLB moved the astros not long ago and you can't get more bottom of the barrel than that. Seattle wasn't that good when they were moved.

I was against the move to begin with for the same reasons you bring up. We had some long standing rivalries with our AFCW counterparts.

Winning kind of erases all of that. Seattle started winning and built new rivalries pretty fast. Getting either the Raiders or Chargers in a swap for either the Rams or Cards wouldn't change much for us.

 

[HammerDown]

Well the Raiders always love to play the 49ers so playing in the NFC West would make that a reality every year instead only in fake football games that don't mean anything played before the season starts.But eventually the Raiders would want control of the revenue in the new stadium...that's the Davis family way...Greed is good! Except when you are a pathetic football owner who doesn't know how to spend your billions improving your football team by way of quality coaches and players (49ers, Charges Raiders, etc...)

St Louis is a dying, now 2nd tier, rust-belt city, because of the incompetence of it's publicly elected officials. All meaningful businesses interests fled in fear long ago.

 

[Southieinnc]

3 under-achieving teams playing in one city? Not going to happen!
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/raider...e-shared-los-angeles-area-084703956--nfl.html

"But the sudden rush to LA is tempered by a 20-year history of disappointment for fans - stadium proposals, complete with architectural renderings, have come and gone since the Rams and the Raiders fled Southern California after the 1994 season."

 

[boltfan72]

I think at this point the Charger ownership is blowing smoke in order to force the city of San Diego to step up and get a stadium deal done. I really don't see the Chargers leaving San Diego. Far more likely the Raiders and/or the Rams head to L.A.

Totally agree, and Fabiani admitted as much on the radio Friday. He basically said that the goal was to light a fire under the mayor's ass. But with Kroenke threatening to take away their plan B, they also had to act now, otherwise they risk having no plan B. I think they are serious about moving but I really don't think the NFL wants two teams there immediately. They could get hosed in both cities. I disagree that they're just blowing smoke. They're dead serious but San Diego is still plan A.

 

[boltfan72]

I'm not sure if I speak for any other Rams fans on here but I think that they'd like to keep the rivalry with San Francisco. The Cardinals can always get moved over to the AFC West if the Chargers or Raiders get switched to the NFC West.

It would make more sense to put the Seahawks back in the division they called home for most of their existence.

 

[boltfan72]

"But the sudden rush to LA is tempered by a 20-year history of disappointment for fans - stadium proposals, complete with architectural renderings, have come and gone since the Rams and the Raiders fled Southern California after the 1994 season."

Heard a reporter from LA state that there is virtually no buzz in LA about any of these moves, simply because of what you stated. Most couldn't care less if the NFL came back, and most believe that a team will never be there because it takes the LA threat away from teams trying to get new stadiums. The LA threat is responsible for many new stadiums being built/upgraded across the league.

 

[DJ]

Yet they haven't been able to support 1 team..so why not put 2 there? BRILLIANT!!

Ignorant and false statement.

 

[DJ]

It's a huge misconception that the city of Los Angeles can't support a team. The Raiders went to Oakland because Al Davis wanted PSL's (Oakland offered that) and renovations to the Coliseum since it's a freaking dinosaur when it comes to NFL stadiums.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

A little...MIN is playing in a college stadium right now I think...PIT is about right...Heinz Field has less than 70k seats...trying to get more added.

JAX...the trick there is they cover a large amount of their seat with a tarp...changing the seating capacity from 80k+ to maybe 65k.

But TV sets is why LA is still a coveted market.

I guess I don't understand your last sentence. I used to live in the LA area for a very long time. People who watch the NFL are going to watch it for the most part regardless of whether a local team is in the area. This is a very unique area. There are tons of transplants from other areas of the country & most of them are not going to change their allegiance simply because some teams move to LA.

I don't see a huge upsurge in TV viewership due to this type of impending move. We are not talking about a team like the Lakers where this would be a factor. This is why it also puzzles me why it is being suggested that 3 teams might move to LA. Sustaining even one team over the long term will be a challenge. If that weren't true then a team would have moved in ages ago.

 

[UVA_Guy81]

It would make more sense to put the Seahawks back in the division they called home for most of their existence.

I can definitely understand that. I think that if a team moves over to the NFC West and one of the NFC West teams has to move to the AFC West, the only team I can see being safe would be the 49ers as the other three would be vulnerable.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

I can definitely understand that. I think that if a team moves over to the NFC West and one of the NFC West teams has to move to the AFC West, the only team I can see being safe would be the 49ers as the other three would be vulnerable.

Yep. Might as well just wait it out to see which teams actually move to LA. I find it almost impossible to believe that 3 teams will relocate to that area. Some of this is no doubt leverage being used against the current cities for each of these teams.

 

[cdumler7]

When was the last time a good team was moved to a different conference in any of the major sports?

The reason it would be more likely the Rams to move than Seattle is the Seahawks are on a roll and there is no way they want the backlash over possibly disrupting that by forcing such a large change on the organization right now.

If you move the Rams to the AFCW you give KC a regional rivalry that cuts down on travel for both teams.

Also the Rams had it in their movement agreement that they aren't as isolated from conference swapping as other teams after they relocated.

You can say it's no big deal to move Seattle back, but I'd say (and so would the organization) that Seattle has already taken one for the league and moved once. It's someone else's turn.

I was more commenting towards the side of not moving Seattle because of the great rivalry they have with San Fran right now. While yes it has been the best in the NFL over the last couple of years I can't see that being the main reason that they wouldn't move Seattle. It is a rivalry that has just gotten its start and really it could already be over with Harbaugh already being gone and him being a big proponent of that rivalry.

I agree Seattle probably wouldn't be the choice considering they have been the NFC's top team the last couple of years. Really they have been the face of that conference so St. Louis makes more sense but again this was about the person commenting towards they wouldn't move them because of the rivalry. If rivalry is a part of the decision then there is no way Oakland is moved as they and the rest of the AFC West have been huge rivals. I mean most fans of any team in the AFC West for 20 years or longer would tell you that the most hated rival in the NFL is that of Oakland unless you are an Oakland fan of course.

 

[WizardHawk]

Any team would pick up rivals no matter where they go, presuming their team isn't a pushover.

Seattle would rekindle their rivalries in the old AFCW is they were moved back. They have no natural rival as there isn't anyone near us. Unless they added a team to Portland there isn't any chance of having a regional rivalry.

I just think Seattle already paid their due and took one for the league and swapped conferences once. It's someone else's turn to take it this time around. And pick a team not near the top that would have less impact on their ability to reach the playoffs because of the move.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I guess I don't understand your last sentence. I used to live in the LA area for a very long time. People who watch the NFL are going to watch it for the most part regardless of whether a local team is in the area. This is a very unique area. There are tons of transplants from other areas of the country & most of them are not going to change their allegiance simply because some teams move to LA.

I don't see a huge upsurge in TV viewership due to this type of impending move. We are not talking about a team like the Lakers where this would be a factor. This is why it also puzzles me why it is being suggested that 3 teams might move to LA. Sustaining even one team over the long term will be a challenge. If that weren't true then a team would have moved in ages ago.

I understand the LA demographic has many transplants and but it's not a whole lot different from ATL...just larger.

Yeah...hardcore NFL fans in the greater LA area are going to watch regardless, but the NFL is a whole lot more regional than you might think...there are a lot more fringe NFL fans that will tune in if there's a local team to root for.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

I understand the LA demographic has many transplants and but it's not a whole lot different from ATL...just larger.

Yeah...hardcore NFL fans in the greater LA area are going to watch regardless, but the NFL is a whole lot more regional than you might think...there are a lot more fringe NFL fans that will tune in if there's a local team to root for.

One major difference between LA and Atlanta is the weather. Sure Atlanta is a bit warmer than most cities, but it is not the same as LA where the temperature is almost always nice & rain seldom screws up your plans. This gives non-diehard football fans a lot more choices on Sundays.

I could see perhaps one team picking up a good number of fans (assuming that they are doing well), but 3 teams? Please. I lived through many years of the Rams & Raiders and except for perhaps a handful or Raiders fans (who will watch them regardless of where they play) literally nobody cared. The people in that area care mainly about the Lakers (and always will) followed distantly by some other teams like the Dodgers, USC, Kings, etc. I don't see that changing anytime soon.

 

[BusSport]

The Rams are also stepping up the competition against the Chargers and Raiders.