2018 LA pro football thread (layoffs, build, cell phone)

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Silver_Surfer

I see. I'm more outraged by the police murdering unarmed black and brown folks, but I guess your thing is equally as appalling.

OK, so you want to bring the police into the discussion about the NFL. I will ask you, what the heck does that have to do with the NFL?

[Angelino19]

Originally Posted by (901)

I find it extremely rude and inconsiderate not to stand for our flag
I will continue to boycott the NFL with my wallet

As long as the Rams and Chargers win the players can stand on their heads for all I care.

[Mike Town]

Originally Posted by sullivan2day

Chicago had 74 people shot, 12 fatally last weekend. That is probably more than were “murdered” by police in the past 5 years.

Black on black murder doesn't count.

[Howest2008]

Originally Posted by Mike Town

Black on black murder doesn't count.

Well maybe because black on black crime and black on black murders are not committed by governmental agencies. Such as Federal cops , State cops , County cops , and of course city cops. Now let us with rational Minds get back to the subject of Los Angeles California football.

[DGarcia879]

Is this true?
the NFL in LA a financial disaster?

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by DGarcia879

Is this true?
the NFL in LA a financial disaster?

Yes. This is officially a Rams town. Doesn't hurt that Rams might be best team in the NFL (funny how that works). But Rams have much more of a history in LA and I think there is still a lot of hate for the Chargers because they have always been a big rivalry with the Raiders who where also in LA for a long time. Everyone said Chargers in LA wasn't going to work and it's not working

[DGarcia879]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

Yes. This is officially a Rams town. Doesn't hurt that Rams might be best team in the NFL (funny how that works). But Rams have much more of a history in LA and I think there is still a lot of hate for the Chargers because they have always been a big rivalry with the Raiders who where also in LA for a long time. Everyone said Chargers in LA wasn't going to work and it's not working

Some critics say the Chargers are favorites to win the AFC and people in the Carson area and some of LA are still too chicken to supoort the Chargers? I'm a cowboys fans, but do respect the Texans, but people supporting the rams is one thing, but some don't want to support and respect the other team, thats sad.

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by DGarcia879

Is this true?
the NFL in LA a financial disaster?

The article is really misleading, as the author implies that no one in LA cares about the Chargers or the Rams.

But this is simply not true, as the Rams are well supported in LA based on my personal observations. I've seen Rams jerseys and bumper stickers all over town, and I've talked football with plenty of Rams fans at the LA Coliseum, at local sports bars, while riding Uber/Lyft, etc. Also, the LA Coliseum has been packed with a great atmosphere at all of the Rams home games I've attended, so the author's assertion that "both teams have struggled mightily to sell out their stadiums" is nonsense. Clearly, this is a guy who has an ax to grind with Los Angeles sports fans and maybe the city/region as a whole.

In actuality, the Rams have a long history in Southern California and many residents were thrilled to see them return, including transplants such as myself who continue to root for our hometown team.

Now, the Chargers are a different story. Practically no one in the LA area wanted to see them move from San Diego. So the lack of interest in the Chargers isn't about apathy for pro football in SoCal - it's about not supporting a team that we didn't want and which was uprooted from its longtime home under bogus circumstances. Most people in LA/OC really like San Diego and did not want that city to lose its team. Plus, there was a ton of local hype when the Rams returned to town, whereas the media coverage for the Chargers' relocation was far more muted. Also, don't forget that there are still a ton of Raider fans in LA/SoCal, and of course there's no way Raider Nation is going to support the Chargers.

Anecdotally, in the 21 months since the Chargers announced their relocation to LA, I can count on one hand the number of people I've seen around town wearing apparel that specifically states Los Angeles Chargers. I've seen a decent number of people wearing Chargers jerseys, but I have no idea if they're supportive of the Chargers because they're now a local team or if they simply like Philip Rivers, Melvin Gordon, or Joey Bosa. Who knows, maybe they just like the Chargers' team colors.

Basically, you have 4 types of NFL fans in the LA/OC/IE area:
1) LA Rams fans: Mix of old-school fans from the original LA Ram era (1946-1994) along with a new generation of younger fans who either switched allegiances from an out-of-market team or started following the NFL for the first time when the Rams returned in 2016. Overwhelmingly composed of LA/SoCal natives rather than transplants. The older segment of the fanbase tends to be white and Latino whereas the younger fans seem to be more racially diverse.
2) Oakland Raider fans: Overwhelmingly Latino and African-American fanbase, and overwhelmingly LA/SoCal natives. Comprised of people who became fans during the LA Raider years (1982-1994) along with their children and grandchildren and will support the Raiders no matter where they play.
3) Out-of-market non-Raider fans (natives): A lot of born-and-raised younger locals who grew up post-1994 latched onto other NFL teams during the 21 year period without a local NFL team, and a number of them didn't convert into Ram or Charger fans when those teams relocated to LA. There are also older fans who rooted for the Rams or Raiders pre-1995 and then changed allegiances to an out-of-market team when those franchises skipped town, but never switched back to one of the local teams following the recent relocations.
4) Out-of-market fans (transplants): There are so many transplants in this city who continue to root for their hometown team - I'm in this category, as I moved to LA from NYC but am still a diehard NY Giants fan. I've been to a number of Rams home games with fellow transplants who also continue to root for their hometown teams, and the general consensus is that most transplants in this town are supportive of the Rams doing well. On the other hand, none of us care about the Chargers for the aforementioned reasons, although I wouldn't mind checking out a Chargers home game sometime just for the sake of it.

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by DGarcia879

Some critics say the Chargers are favorites to win the AFC and people in the Carson area and some of LA are still too chicken to supoort the Chargers? I'm a cowboys fans, but do respect the Texans, but people supporting the rams is one thing, but some don't want to support and respect the other team, thats sad.

Pro football fans in the LA area aren't "too chicken" to support the Chargers. We would rather just support another NFL team without the Spanos baggage.

A common (but false) narrative is that people in the LA area don't care about pro football, but the reality is that the NFL remains quite popular locally. Football fans in SoCal will root for a team with an established history in this town (Rams and Raiders) or for an out-of-market team with no local connections, but have never been so desperate that they would take any team, regardless of the circumstances.

In a smaller market that has never been home to an NFL team, the Chargers probably would've been welcomed with open arms. But in a large market like LA with a well-established pro sports landscape, the fans are going to be more discerning.

I think that a second NFL team in the LA area could potentially do well if it were an expansion team. But NFL fans in this town were not happy about the Chargers leaving San Diego, and it's showing. Factor in that the Rams are doing well along with the fans of out-of-market teams, and there just isn't much room at this time for an LA Chargers fanbase. Of course, I wouldn't dismiss the possibility of the Chargers eventually carving out a sizable local fanbase, but they would need a sustained period of success for that to happen, and they also would have to capture the attention of younger fans who are just starting to get into the game and have little-to-no knowledge of the Spanos drama.

[Angelino19]

When the NBA Clippers moved to LA, many years ago, it took a while for folks to support them. After all this is Lakers country. Then they gave us something to cheer for. Now they sell out every game. I believe the Chargersl face the same challenge. LA loves a winner. If the Chargers win, they will come.