What do you think?
All the east coast transplants root for their home teams. Also the Packer fans. Bears fans. Cowboys. Etc. People from California? Tough to find people that care enough to choose sides. Band wagon is easier if they're watching at all. Honestly the NFL these days is such a corporate commercialized sham anyway. Low life's like Colin kapernick getting paid millions of dollars to throw a ball around. Billionaires getting free money from broke cities for stadiums. None of the players care what team they play for... it's all about getting the best contract they can until they're bounced out of the league.
America's Team! That's why they practice up the road in Oxnard. I think the cheers were louder last night when the Cowboys did something good than when the Rams did! T
Why Raiders? Former LA team. I thought about including USC or UCLA but they would win easily. I don't think people in LA are that into pro football. I agree there's a lot of transplants who like their home teams more than the Rams. Local TV carried the Chargers for years after the Rams left but I really don't see much enthusiasm.
I was amazed at how big USC and UCLA were in socal. Puts the lack of success of the NGL in perspective. USC/UCLA game was the biggest sporting event of the year in LA. and yes, transplants bring their affiliations with them. There is a Browns fan club that packed 200+ into a bar in Santa Monica for every game. The Browns!
The St. Louis Ra......., no wait, the San Diego Cha......, no wait, the Oakland Ra......, no wait, I know.......the New England Patriots. I mean if LA fans are going to go with a winner!
LOL. Actually, your post made me look up attendance figures. Cowboys #1 by a wide margin, followed by two other NFC East teams. Most popular road teams? Detroit then Giants then Shawks then Boys. Lions?!? https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2016/attendance.htm T
There are a lot of teams that pack in the crowds because: 1) It's the only sport in town, but probably more like: 2) It's the 'in' thing to do. It never ceases to amaze me how many folks come back to work on Monday 'complaining' that 'yeah, I had to go to the game on Saturday (or Sunday...)', like they were dragged into it. And I mean everywhere, not just L.A.
USC is and has been the best team in SoCal, and could probably beat the Rams heads up this year. Westwood Tech had a great comeback, too, and some of my friends are true powder blue diehards. Healthy, fun rivalry that spans generations (with a lot of USC undergrad and UCLA grad school people, and vice versa). The pros run a game made for TV (and TV timeouts), and the fan experience can't compare. With politics now playing even keel to actual games, I'm tired of anticipating what new and inappropriate things the players will do during the National Anthem. Their union boss said they might go on strike when the current CBA expires - not sure Tastee Freeze will pay them $18,000 a shift like the NFL. I'm boycotting the NFL this season, choosing to sit in protest (watching something else, or going out for a walk) during their games. I live in San Diego now, and the Chargers move was a sad occasion. LA didn't (and doesn't) care for them, and they can't even fill their 22K "stadium" now. The Rams, at least, hearken back to the old days of the Fearsome Foursome, so tradition demands you root for them against teams you might hate...
True, the Rams actually looked pretty good; the Colts looked awful. Then again, the Rams were playing on USC's home turf, so perhaps there was some mojo left in the field...
I had to peek, old allegiances die hard. My wife reminded me of my boycott about 30 seconds into watching, so I meekly turned the channel & checked the score on the web after it was over. Now, I'm officially on boycott...
Wow.... the LA Chargers attendance SUCKS. They play in this little stadium and still can't even come close to filling it. I wonder how long they can survive like this? And how do the players feel when they look up into the stands and see more opposing team fans than their own? They must think every home game is an away game. LA never wanted the Chargers. Even the local papers were against it. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I heard even with the lack of people attending and the cheap ticket prices they were still charging $100 for parking. The Chargers leaving San Diego was a mistake although I am not sure what they alternative would have been.
Chargers were in a lose lose. Nobody cares enough about them in SD or LA. San Diego taxpayers have NO interest in paying a single dollar for any kind of stadium. They should have just moved to another city all together like San Antonio or something.
Business-wise probably not a mistake to move to LA. Just being in the LA market roughly doubled the value of the franchise. The bottom line is that in SoCal there are too many other things that compete for entertainment attention. So bad product + high prices = empty seats. I looked at tix for a Chargers game. Even against the Browns the cheapest ticket was over $100, and several hundred for the best seats. When they were in SD the cheapest tix were under $70. I would have thought that bargain tix would be a way to draw in fans and build a following. But who am I to question the Business savvy of Dean Spanos...
If the Chargers do not start winning pronto, they are going to be - to steal a line from F-chatter Jason - a dumpster fire. Rivers is on the tail end of his career, and they seem to be snake-bitten by injuries. They have nice pieces on O and D, but it ain't translating into wins thus far. I think it is time to start grooming their next QB...T
