Originally Posted by
Mudflap1
Aren't you contradicting yourself? St. Louis, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Houston deserve teams because they can support them based upon their markets, but Los Angeles, the 2nd largest city in the U.S. does not?
I happen to live in Los Angeles. I am a Bills fan, not a Raiders or Rams fan. However, there's something to be said for not wanting to drive an hour or hour and a half each way to go see a crappy team in a crappy stadium in a very dangerous area of town (Raiders -- Coliseum), or drive to Anaheim (another run down area at the time -- has since had a rebirth) with another run down stadium (again, has since been seriously renovated).
If you could sit out on your deck, watch the game on television, and be across the street from the ocean with sunny and 75 degree weather everyday, you wouldn't be in a big hurry to go see those games either.
You gotta understand something about Los Angeles, it's not that the fans are bad, USC and UCLA pack their games usually, it's that the city is so spread out it takes a long time to get to the games. Factor in traffic, bad areas, and yes, bad teams, and that's why there was a loss of interest. The Angels draw great, so do the Dodgers. Sure, they're both good, but the Dodgers draw well even when they're bad. So do the Lakers. It's all about the marketing. If you have a nice venue, do some nice promotion, and it's a nice area/accessible area, there will be support. But if you don't, there are too many things to do out here, and people will lose interest and do something else, or at least stay at home and watch the game.
In addition, those other cities (including Los Angeles) lost their teams for business reasons. Oakland offered more money to bring back the Raiders. Can you seriously argue that Al Davis is NOT a bastard of some sorts? And Georgia Frontiere? Please. She isn't going to win owner of the year anytime soon. Bill Bidwell with the St. Louis Cardinals? Robert Irsay with the Baltimore Colts? None of these guys are all-star owners. It's more than just fan participation. Lots of times you have to look at the owners, and what motives and business deals they have on the table.
Jon