Zvonimir Boban
Banned
It's a dump. Not really important though, Kroenke just wanted any excuse to leave St. Louis.
What a cunt.
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NFL votes to move the St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles for the 2016 season
- Thread starter RBH
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It's a dump. Not really important though, Kroenke just wanted any excuse to leave St. Louis.
What a cunt.
hipsterpants
Member
I wonder what it must be like to have you and your wife be worth a total of like 11 billion dollars and say
"I need more money"
"I need more money"
GoldenEye 007
Member
I guess that makes some sense. Just crazy that some of these 15-20 year old structures in various sports are all of a sudden considered as inadequate and causing issues for teams that "threaten their viability." Turner Field being another example.
Speaking as a Dolphins fan, I bet the Dolphins ownership is pissed over the Marlins situation down in Miami. Sun Life while undergoing major renovations, is technically a 100 million stadium at it's core. I wonder if you start to see franchises like that threaten to move around to secure new stadiums as I doubt the state or city would allow much if any funding to go to a new structure in the future. I know Sun Life was fully privately funded at the time, but I doubt any new park would be given the unfortunate realities of most sports owners.
Edit: And at least this Inglewood stadium appears to be fully privately funded? That's quite a bit shocking. Refreshing, but shocking.
TheGamingBox
Banned
Doesnt matter if the cfl likes it or not, all they can do is pray that the death of the argonauts and tigercats dont take the entire league with them
Calamari41
41 > 38
It becomes a game at that point.
hipsterpants
Member
This is what fans should be afraid of. NFL owners may be greedy but they aren't dumb. STL would probably bend over backwards to get a new team here and the $400m in public money is better than anything most cities will give. Ultimately I've made my peace and would rather the city look to get a team from the MLS or NBA. STL can support 3 teams despite what the NFL propaganda machine will say.
Officerrob
Banned
20 years, heh, O.co Coliseum opened in fucking 1966.
GoldenEye 007
Member
The MLS situation in Orlando is truly something to behold. Really awesome atmosphere and situation. Then again, who's to say it doesn't become a problem in 20 years when the league is bigger and starts reasonably competing in the current top 4 of US sports.
nocturnalis
Member
His point was that LA sports fans send a message with their dollar. These people in small towns think their supporting their teams when they are really giving them no incentive to change and incentivizing mediocrity. It's very smart for LA fans to say "I can support my team from my sofa if the owner doesn't get their act together."
hipsterpants
Member
The fact that there isn't an MLS team in St. Louis is crazy to me. It's a big soccer town and the exhibition games are always sold out. It's basically a guaranteed success. Hell with the NFL gone maybe we'll have a better chance lol
Zvonimir Boban
Banned
An MLS team would be cool, St. Louis has a strong soccer tradition.
The only good thing about the Rams leaving is that the city doesn't waste half a billion dollars on a stadium to appease some rick fucks, I really hope St. Louis doesn't give that much to get another NFL team in the future.
GoldenEye 007
Member
Eh.... LA isn't the only major city with NFL teams that have sucked over the years. Yet they're about the only ones to have multiple franchises leave the city. And the largest one without a franchise for an extended period.
I mean Miami has basically sucked since the tail end of the Marino era yet they have been able to maintain the franchise. And Miami isn't exactly small town USA. It's possible there just isn't genuine interest in LA. It's incredibly easy to support a winner but the reality is that it's relatively rare for a franchise to have constant success and consistently be competing for championships outside of a few exceptions. Heck, the team they are getting is terrible and others here have indicated the owner has been questionable in his commitment in producing a viable product.
Maybe there is genuine interest. But that will take support of the franchise beyond the honeymoon period and during both good and bad stretches. We'll see moving forward.
Flying Toaster
Member
MLS going mainstream in America would be awesome in so many ways...
NFL would freak out every time they move a team away and soccer comes in and picks up the fans.
NFL would freak out every time they move a team away and soccer comes in and picks up the fans.
Sorry for the delay, I was watching my terrible Lakers from the comfort of my couch.
But to answer you question, not really. Keeping my credit card in my wallet makes a much bigger impact to a bum owner than sitting in an arena ( after paying for a ticket, concessions, parking, etc.) booing until my throat is sore. I don't see any honor or "cred" in supporting an organization feigning effort to produce a winning team. You're an absolute sucker if you're spending dollars to patronize the Cleveland Browns or the Philly Sixers, for example. Here in LA, we generally don't go for that shit...unless you're the Lakers with years of championships buying you equity for terrible years, like this one.
While Kroenke has a suspect track record, I am fully convinced he'll do everything in his power to deliver a winner to LA.
Flying Toaster
Member
When the Cardinals came to Arizona they were shit. We built them a stadium and the owner kept his promise.
We might not be the Seahawks but we don't blow like we did. I see the Rams shaping up in a few years. You can only go so far with a loosing product.
We might not be the Seahawks but we don't blow like we did. I see the Rams shaping up in a few years. You can only go so far with a loosing product.
I looked up this years average home attendance for the Rams and it was 80.2%. I was shocked it was so high after so many years of poor play and all the negativity and threats to leave. Apparently every game was a sellout either through or until 2006. I haven't been to a game since 1999 and likely wouldn't have gone to another one, but sad to see it end up this way. I definitely don't agree with Kroenke's assessment in his report.
Edit: I'm a life long Chiefs fan and I followed Warner to AZ and remain a Cards fan.. I'd say both teams are worthy interests for any bitter STL football fans. Of course most locals will hate in the Chiefs just because KC.. But it's a great franchise with great ownership, 22 years of playoff futility be damned. Also an option to double down on hockey. The Blues are a lot of fun, again despite the playoff futility. I'm a season ticket holder if any local GAF crew want to enjoy a cold beverage at a game sometime.
I'm only 32, so I won't pretend I know all the dynamics and reasons behind why the Rams and Raiders left. But for the last 18 years or so as an aware sport fan living in Los Angeles, I've never seen any major professional franchise threaten or pontificate publically about leaving the city due to lack of support or apathy from fans. As a city full of transplants from all over the country, the love of sports always seem to be strong at live events, professional games, sports bars, etc.
But we aren't Green Bay or Jacksonville where the NFL is the main game in town, in this city there is a higher bar to capture and retain our attention and imagination. That's just the way it is, and we don't apologize for having that mentality.
I hope St. Louis gets a team, and I hope MLS gains more and more popularity.
Having your own soccer team to cheer for is so much better than cheering for some team on the other side of the ocean. I was happy when the Sounders joined the MLS and it's been fun ever since.
Soccer team owners are laughing at the "troubles" of NFL owners. League with a "can't lose/no consequence for finishing last" system, equal annual profit sharing and cities bending over backwards for NFL teams.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan. What do these teams have in common? They don't fucking move for a handful of dollars.
NFL couldn't be further from inspiring fan loyalty. As a STL resident, I have utmost respect for the Cardinals despite not being much of a baseball fan. That's a city icon, staying put as it should.
I tried explaining soccer's relegation system to my native STL friends, they failed to grasp the concept of relegated to/promoted from minor league so I had to break it down like this: "Imagine that each season, 3 of the worst performing teams have to move to Boise, Idaho and unless they perform very well, they have to stay there".
Goodbye Rams. I will miss you, cherish forever the exciting moments you gave me but I have no love for the organisation you are part of.
Black Mamba
Member
I preferred not having a team in LA. Now instead of getting the best football games I'm going to have the Rams on my TV.
Yup, I'm going to be watching less football soon.
Yup, I'm going to be watching less football soon.
As opposed to watching the Raiders or 49ers every Sunday? Growing up as a Lions fan in Southern California is depressing. Especially the last few years since we've become somewhat relevant and I'm forced to watch a stream because Fox decided that the 49ers v. Raiders just because I happen to live in the area when the Lions game being played is far more exciting.
The Rams as built with Aaron Donald, Robert Quinn and Todd Gurley are a fun team to watch. Just get a somewhat decent QB on that team and they're making the playoffs.
Black Mamba
Member
Well, I'm a niners fan sooooo....
But uh, we didn't have to watch that many 49ers and raiders games this year. Most of the time we had the Pats, Cowboys, Packers on TV.
Just say what you really wanna say.
Well, I'm a niners fan sooooo....
But uh, we didn't have to watch that many 49ers and raiders games this year. Most of the time we had the Pats, Cowboys, Packers on TV.
Which is bullshit and having a official team in L.A. will help filter out the West L.A. bandwagoning Seahawks fans. This season they're Seahawks fans, next season they're Lions fans.
At least with the Rams back in L.A. that shit stops.
I do feel bad for the hardcore St. Louis fans but at the end of the day this is the NFLs fault. Los Angeles, the second biggest city in the USA, did not have a team for 20 years. It's nonsense and falls on the shoulders of the owners, the commissioner and high ranking NFL officials.
Black Mamba
Member
It's not bullshit. Fox and CBS generally would put the best NFL games on TV. This was nice. I knew when I turned on the TV Sunday morning I'd usually get the best games available instead of having to go to a bar to see them (or Direct TV).
Now, when the Rams are on TV and aren't very good, it'll be time to go hiking (and I don't mean that because I'm lol typical LA fan, I'm a Niner fan through and through. I'll watch the niners but if my only game is a shitty Rams vs Bucs game, then goodbye).
I dunno, I just don't feel like L.A. really cared about having an NFL team. I think most people will stick to their teams. I'm annoyed that after years of NFL bliss in terms of games on TV I'm now going to be just like everyone else in blacked out games.
Randolph Freelander
Member
On the bright side, St. Louis, you didn't fork over $400 million or whatever to a billionaire and you no longer have to watch the Rams.
A combination of Kroenke, the fans (PSLs), and the league (G-4 loan).
Unknown Soldier
Member
PSLs huh? I guess they want to make the same mistake the Raiders made. Good luck with that, I don't think sports fans in LA give enough of a shit about the Rams to fork out money to reserve seats which they can then buy tickets for to Rams games.
They were supposed to have shaped up with vaunted QB prospect Sam 'I am' Bradford, guys like Chris Long just a few years ago. I don't know, I mean it wasn't too long ago they won a super bowl, had studs like Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner.
excelsiorlef
Member
LA has literally lost every team that was trying to move there lol.
I think that was the highlight for me, all three times at one point played in LA and left...
And then if they suck long enough and enough people stay away to not be viable they'll leave and then you'll whine that some other city "stole your team"
Officerrob
Banned
Are a decent offensive line and good receivers just going to materalize out of thin air as well?
That was like 16-17 years ago, an eternity in sports
Amibguous Cad
Member
SON OF A BITCH
There goes the slim hopes for an MLS team in St. Louis
(there were rumors that MLS might expand there if they could piggy back off of a new dome built for the Rams, but now that's gone.)
Yep, I was in Busch for the USMNT qualifier, raucous crowd, sold out. On the other hand STLFC only gets ~5,000 attendance in USL compared to Sacramento's like ~15,000. I think it would be a very promising expansion candidate, and that it would be a bigger name in the expansion sweepstakes if there were any ownership groups expressing interest. As it is Sacramento and San Antonio have better lower division support and more committed ownership groups.
There goes the slim hopes for an MLS team in St. Louis
(there were rumors that MLS might expand there if they could piggy back off of a new dome built for the Rams, but now that's gone.)
Yep, I was in Busch for the USMNT qualifier, raucous crowd, sold out. On the other hand STLFC only gets ~5,000 attendance in USL compared to Sacramento's like ~15,000. I think it would be a very promising expansion candidate, and that it would be a bigger name in the expansion sweepstakes if there were any ownership groups expressing interest. As it is Sacramento and San Antonio have better lower division support and more committed ownership groups.
Zvonimir Boban
Banned
SON OF A BITCH
There goes the slim hopes for an MLS team in St. Louis
(there were rumors that MLS might expand there if they could piggy back off of a new dome built for the Rams, but now that's gone.)
Yep, I was in Busch for the USMNT qualifier, raucous crowd, sold out. On the other hand STLFC only gets ~5,000 attendance in USL compared to Sacramento's like ~15,000. I think it would be a very promising expansion candidate, and that it would be a bigger name in the expansion sweepstakes if there were any ownership groups expressing interest. As it is Sacramento and San Antonio have better lower division support and more committed ownership groups.
I think the fact that one stadium has a capacity of 5,500 and the other holds 11,500 might have something to do with it tbh.
VendettaRed07
Member
SON OF A BITCH
There goes the slim hopes for an MLS team in St. Louis
(there were rumors that MLS might expand there if they could piggy back off of a new dome built for the Rams, but now that's gone.)
Yep, I was in Busch for the USMNT qualifier, raucous crowd, sold out. On the other hand STLFC only gets ~5,000 attendance in USL compared to Sacramento's like ~15,000. I think it would be a very promising expansion candidate, and that it would be a bigger name in the expansion sweepstakes if there were any ownership groups expressing interest. As it is Sacramento and San Antonio have better lower division support and more committed ownership groups.
MLS will eventually expand to 30-32 teams. I can almost guarantee you that St. Louis will be one of them. It's probably better this way with the Rams gone, a chance for a St. Louis team with a soccer specific stadium is probably better. It would be better to wait for that then walk into a Revs like situation
As a 49ers fan, I'm glad the Rams are back in LA, cuts down on their travel time.
The Rams being in St. Louis never felt right to me, having grown up watching them and the 49ers (especially at the end of the 80's). The Rams, to me, were always LA's team (much like how Oklahoma City will always be the SuperSonics).
With that said, I really feel for the Rams fans in St. Louis. Losing a team can be hard (twice in St. Louis's case), especially when the owner does it the way it went down.
The Rams being in St. Louis never felt right to me, having grown up watching them and the 49ers (especially at the end of the 80's). The Rams, to me, were always LA's team (much like how Oklahoma City will always be the SuperSonics).
With that said, I really feel for the Rams fans in St. Louis. Losing a team can be hard (twice in St. Louis's case), especially when the owner does it the way it went down.
tiggerkiddo
Member
LA Rams can debut with old man Peyton.
tiggerkiddo
Member
That place will be used for everything. They will make bank and Kronke knows it.
RumblingRosco
Member
Concerts, festivals, and other major events will be held there.
GeordieMark
Member
You know who owns Arsenal, right? Stan Kronke. And the Glaizers own Man Utd. I'd like to think football will be immune to these shenanigans, but there is a threat of the 'big' clubs breaking out to start their own league. Fans means nothing these days. Its all about the money.
Hilarious. I'm sure little Jimmy would be thrilled. I started following football weekly during the '91 season when I was 7. Despite the Giants' win over the Bills in Super Bowl XXV being what secured me as a fan and my living in New York state, I found no allegiance to the team. The only thing that did was help establish my disdain for the Bills who ruled the AFC for the next three years. Instead, I watched NFL documentaries/commentaries on television (may have rented some VHS as well... don't remember) and immediately latched onto the (LA) Raiders due to their badass image: cool colors, cool logo, "just win, baby" attitude, lightning rod for whiney haters, and the most die hard fans around. When the season started I was super annoyed to learn that I would have a whole lot of Bills on my TV (really drove the hate I had for that team home -- still does) and would rarely get to see "my" Raiders, so I tracked them via TV and newspaper. Sure I came aboard as they went into decline, (went from 12-4 to 8-8 if memory serves) but that didn't bother me. I was so damn excited whenever they would air... man. And it felt awesome wearing a silver and black Starter jacket in a sea of blue Bills/Giants ones at school.
Good times, man. Little Jimmy would do well to create lasting memories tied to a storied franchise like the Raiders -- and with the internet/Sunday Ticket he'd be able to follow the team he loves as I wasn't able to for many years.
Lol... Oakland breathes a sigh of relief while SD gives no fucks about the Chargers.
30yearsofhurt
Member
He owns less than 30% of Arsenal.
GeordieMark
Member
Which makes him the majority shareholder on the board. Not the same exactly, but he is one of the owners.
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