(04-21-2012 08:47 AM)bitcruncher Wrote: LA didn't abandon the Rams and Raiders, PTNC. LA ignored 'em, which is why they left...
WRT the Rams, that's revisionist history. The Rams were extremely popular during their time in
LA. The TV blackout rule/sellout rule was a problem, not because the team wasn't popular, but because the stadium (the Coliseum) seated
100K at the time. It was unreasonable to expect sellouts there but the rule was the rule. The Rams moved to Orange County (and a smaller stadium - Anaheim Stadium) to overcome the blackout problem and it worked for a while. They sold out regularly in their first years, while they were still a decent team.
But the team started to stink and Rosenbloom's bimbo widow didn't spend any money on the team. They couldn't count on a solid local fan base to keep attendance up. Anaheim Stadium, built for baseball, was never a good place to watch a football game. A lot of LA fans felt abandoned, and it's important to understand that, in SoCal, they may be next to each other but LA County and Orange County aren't as alike as the rest of the country thinks.
The Raiders, well, who cares? They were never perceived to be a LA team by anyone except gang bangers, and Al Davis ripped off two SoCal communities. How they could have expected fan loyalty I have no idea.
Bottom line, the perception that LA is a bad football town comes more as a result of the lack of demand for a replacement of the Rams or Raiders. Like other LA sports franchises, the fans are good to reasonably successful teams where ownership is engaged and sincere (Dodgers under O'Malley, Lakers under Buss, Rams under Rosenbloom, Kings under (dare I say it) McNall.
(04-22-2012 02:21 PM)crixus Wrote: (04-22-2012 01:44 PM)RaiderATO Wrote: (04-22-2012 12:56 PM)crixus Wrote: Los Angeles won't get the Vikings. They're just using LA to position themselve$ for a new stadium. And they'll get it too! The Jacksonville Jaguars have the highest probability of moving to Los Angeles.
Haven't heard much recently on the Chargers' progress towards a new/refurbished stadium. They seemed to be almost as much a possibility as Jax. Oakland too, if the A's can get out into their own digs and they re-do the Coliseum, they'd be content.
At the end of last season Dean Spanos went on San Diego television and promised the city council and Mayor that he does not want to move the team. The city council and Mayor then told him that they are willing to help out more to get a new downtown $tadium built. But it will probably have to go a public vote before it happens. As a San Diego resident and lifelong Chargers fan I'm feeling confident that a new stadium in San Diego will happen here...eventually. 
The developers of the two proposed stadium sites are both requiring a percentage of the team. My understanding is that Spanos is totally unwilling to part with ownership shares. So Chargers are out. Amazingly, the Raiders are a prime candidate. Certainly the Vikes with their recent stadium deal collapsing. And in a twist, St. Louis is in the conversation because their stadium lease expires in the next few years.
But there is a lot of merit to the point that LA is simply a leverage point.
