Thread: In light of this recent embarrassment!

Originally Posted by Dagan81

I think L.A. could work if the owners went about advertising and pushing promotions correctly. I mean, purplejokr is correct when he said that attendance figures for both L.A. area baseball franchise are good, but what he may not know or realize is that at Dodger Stadium, most fans are starting to leave, win or lose, by the 6th or 7th Inning. The attitude is more lackadaisical in terms of the intensity for the love of sport in the Los Angeles area; even at Laker games, people come to be seen more than to really enjoy the nuances of the game.

Well, I know how the small few can spoil the bunch but I live here and during the summer I attend about a dozen games at Dodger Stadium. Yeah, there are always a handful of folks that show up late to games and another handful that leave early. That is inconsequential to ownership and/or TV folks as those tickets are already bought and paid for.

It always amuses me how LA fans get the shaft about not being passionate and/or vocal. Granted, some folks at Staples Center during a big game are there just to see and be seen. However, by and large, Laker fans at Staples Center are typical fans. We are not the loudest but when the Lakers need to hear support from us, they get it. Plus, Laker fans that attend games are about as knowledgeable as they can be as a group. You, typically, don't get too much homer-itis from Staples Center crowds because we know good basketball when we see it. We also know hustle and effort when we see it. Please keep in mind that since the Lakers have been in Los Angeles, they have won 10 championships. Meanwhile, the UCLA Bruins have won 11 championships in their own right including seven consecutive. By virtue of these two clubs, the basketball viewing public of Los Angeles has witnessed the near equivalent of basketball perfection.

I'll concede that our public transportation system in Los Angeles is atrocious and that contributes to some fans' inability to arrive on time and their eagerness to leave before traffic but I would also argue that those fans permeate the sports landscape across the country. Arriving late and leaving early is NOT exclusive to Los Angeles.

For the NFL to succeed long term in Los Angeles the franchise NEEDS a couple of things to happen;

• Solid ownership DEVOTED to winning.

If some yo-yo like Clippers' owner Donald Sterling gets an NFL franchise than its life in LA will be over before it begins. However, if an NFL franchise gets ownership like Lakers' owner Dr. Jerry Buss or Angels' owner like Arte Moreno, the NFL franchise will be in GREAT hands.

• Immediate success or obvious potential.

This would go hand in hand with the ownership question but an 8-8 season would certainly generate some buzz in LA about their new football franchise. Thereby, giving that franchise a better chance to compete with all of the alternate forms of entertainment here.

All in all, I think it is worthwhile for the NFL to explore the possibility of putting a team here. It has been 16 years since the NFL had a presence in Los Angeles and the NFL is more popular than ever, the metro area has grown, and Los Angeles has demonstrated that it can support several professional sports franchises.

Originally Posted by BU54

How long ago was it the Vikings traded half their team to Dallas for Herschel Walker, then virtually didn't use him.

That was 1989. Thanks for bringing that up! That trade built a multi-time Super Bowl champion....





in Dallas.

Originally Posted by purplejokr

Well, I know how the small few can spoil the bunch but I live here and during the summer I attend about a dozen games at Dodger Stadium. Yeah, there are always a handful of folks that show up late to games and another handful that leave early. That is inconsequential to ownership and/or TV folks as those tickets are already bought and paid for.

It always amuses me how LA fans get the shaft about not being passionate and/or vocal. Granted, some folks at Staples Center during a big game are there just to see and be seen. However, by and large, Laker fans at Staples Center are typical fans. We are not the loudest but when the Lakers need to hear support from us, they get it. Plus, Laker fans that attend games are about as knowledgeable as they can be as a group. You, typically, don't get too much homer-itis from Staples Center crowds because we know good basketball when we see it. We also know hustle and effort when we see it. Please keep in mind that since the Lakers have been in Los Angeles, they have won 10 championships. Meanwhile, the UCLA Bruins have won 11 championships in their own right including seven consecutive. By virtue of these two clubs, the basketball viewing public of Los Angeles has witnessed the near equivalent of basketball perfection.

I'll concede that our public transportation system in Los Angeles is atrocious and that contributes to some fans' inability to arrive on time and their eagerness to leave before traffic but I would also argue that those fans permeate the sports landscape across the country. Arriving late and leaving early is NOT exclusive to Los Angeles.

For the NFL to succeed long term in Los Angeles the franchise NEEDS a couple of things to happen;

• Solid ownership DEVOTED to winning.

If some yo-yo like Clippers' owner Donald Sterling gets an NFL franchise than its life in LA will be over before it begins. However, if an NFL franchise gets ownership like Lakers' owner Dr. Jerry Buss or Angels' owner like Arte Moreno, the NFL franchise will be in GREAT hands.

• Immediate success or obvious potential.

This would go hand in hand with the ownership question but an 8-8 season would certainly generate some buzz in LA about their new football franchise. Thereby, giving that franchise a better chance to compete with all of the alternate forms of entertainment here.

All in all, I think it is worthwhile for the NFL to explore the possibility of putting a team here. It has been 16 years since the NFL had a presence in Los Angeles and the NFL is more popular than ever, the metro area has grown, and Los Angeles has demonstrated that it can support several professional sports franchises.

I know exactly what you mean by winning championships. I'm a New York Yankees fan, and we consider any season that doesn't end with a World Championship to be a failure. I guess that's why I sometimes struggle with the attitude that is shown in Halas Hall because they don't seem to have the killer instinct to just go out, draft the great college talent and to sign the top free agents to meet specific needs that would ultimately lead to Super Bowls. I know you're thinking I'm crazy, but I have a complex about me when it comes to winning, and I demand my teams to win. I will always be a Bears fan until my dying breath, but there is only one New York Yankees, and the Bears haven't performed at that level really since the 1940s, when they were winning multiple championships and only losing one or two games a season.

But back to Los Angeles, you are absolutely correct. L.A. will have to have an NFL owner who is dedicated to winning. Al Davis started out that way until about the early 90s, and that is when the Raiders became mediocre. Prior to the St. Louis Rams winning Super Bowl XXXIII, they had only appeared once in a Super Bowl (Super Bowl XIV) while in Los Angeles, and got blown out by the Steelers. Los Angeles is kind of like New York in its championship-driven pedigree. I just wish that the Bears were that way. I would love to see the day when the Bears are not just the winningest franchise in NFL history, but that they, too, are also the franchise with the most World Championships. It can be done if we ever bring ourselves up to Green Bay's level on a consistent basis. I don't think we have the front office or the coaches to get this done, however. Lovie Smith will have to go, as too will Jerry Angelo because JA can't draft high round draft picks well.