Let’s talk about something different. This article about the Raiders moving has been bugging me all day, but, alas, Real Lifeâ„¢ interfered
Raiders could reportedly play in San Antonio or with 49ers if Oakland fans bail
It appears that the Raiders are already making contingency plans in case their divorce with the city of Oakland gets messy.
After the team’s move to Las Vegas was approved Monday , Raiders owner Mark Davis said he would like to keep the Raiders in Oakland while the team’s new stadium in Vegas is being built.
“We have two more years of lease options for Oakland right now,†Davis said. “If the fans would like us to stay there, we’d love to be there for that and possibly talk to them about extending it for maybe 2019 as well and try to bring a championship back to Oakland.â€
Is it just me, or does it seem as if the Raiders are blaming the fans and trying to shame them in case they abandon going to games over the next two seasons? The Raiders are leaving. Why would any Oakland Raiders fan even consider paying money to attend games? Why spend money on merchandise? Why would fans not bail? Their team abandoned them.
Overall, it seems as if the NFL hates much of its fan base. You have three teams moving to new cities. The Rams and Chargers pee’d all over their fan base, and are moving to a city that was unable to support NFL previously. Then the NFL approved the Raiders moving. Adding insult to injury. It’s a pretty shoddy way to treat the fans, especially with all the craziness last year.
They can’t actually expect the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders local fan bases to stay with the teams, can they? I know if my NJ Devils moved out of NJ, I wouldn’t be a fan of them anymore. I may live in North Carolina, but they’ve been my team since growing up in NJ and them coming in 1984. Wouldn’t be the same.
Now, if it was the Dodgers and they moved to Wichita? Perhaps. Always been my team, but, I’ve never lived there. But, I would expect local Dodgers fans to turn their backs on the Devils.
Oh, and those who will be fans in Las Vegas? Just remember, the Raiders blew off their fans in Oakland twice now, and in Los Angeles once. You could be next.
And, yes, it’s a business. This business requires fans, though. Die hard local fans. They have the money.
I’ve been a Raiders fan ever since the late 1960s, and I’m disappointed in this move. Still, it’s not surprising: the Raiders rarely sold out over the past several years, meaning that Raiders fans in the area had the games blacked out.
And no, actually, the NFL business model doesn’t require fans in the stands: it’s all the television contracts and marketing. The Raiders’ jerseys have long been among leagues top five sellers.
A case could be made that Oakland not voting for a new stadium is one of the reasons the Raiders are leaving. In that case, yeah, the fans “forced” the Raiders to move to greener pastures.
But it always goes deeper than that. The City wanted a commitment from the Raiders if a new stadium was built and never got one. The leases for teams are always weighted in favor of the team which means the citizens are building and paying for a place for a business to be conducted. Even if the city builds a stadium, the team retains the naming rights of the stadium.
I’ve been through a team leaving. I was a lifelong Baltimore Colt fan and when Bob Irsay stole the Colts away in the middle of the night, it was devastating. But you do get over it. (I got over it by not rooting for any team – even the Ravens.)
If I were Oakland (who still owes $95 million on renovations done to the stadium 20 years ago) I would lock the gates on the stadium. Let ’em find another home. If a guest doesn’t want to stay, you don’t force them – or allow them – to stay.
There is also an different economic look to this as well. The players and most of the staff will be happier in Nevada as Nevada doesn’t have a state income tax. That’s more money in their pockets.
The NFL is a business and we all get that. So I watch it not for the business, but for the sport. I don’t really care who is playing and I will not step into another NFL stadium for a game, but that’s my choice and a choice I am happy with.
My favorite sports movie is The North Dallas Forty with Mac Davis and Nick Nolte. I like the scene where John Matuzak is arguing with coach. “When we call it a game you call it a business, we call it a business and you call it a game. The team finally chases the coach out after the fuss is over.
Sports has been a business since professional teams started playing, its all about the money and teams will go to the highest bidder, fans be damned.
Raiders fans stuck by them thru all the losses with Al Davis not giving a damn as long as he got his cut. Hell right now the Raiders fans in LA can’t wait for them to move to Vegas so they can make it a weekend trip. I mean, who the hell wants to go to Oakland?
My team is the Chargers. Yeah, poor me. I liked them better in San Diego.
Oakland can have their dang Raiders. Here in Vegas we have always had the best games on every Sunday from around the country. Now those games will be blacked out whenever the Raiders are playing due to NFL home team rules. Going to a bar at 10 AM to see the game I want is not an option, at least for me.
The Dodgers? Would that be the Brooklyn Dodgers???
Just askin’!
Nope, it’s the New York Giants baseball team…