CC/OT - Our pal Rapoport saying a Raiders move to LA is looking very possible
I suppose if we discredit his Harbaugh stuff, we should discredit this. But, I figured it was worth a mention.
https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/542686130852741120
The Oakland #Raiders have a much better chance of moving to Los Angeles this year than I realized. That possibility is very legitimate.
December 10th, 2014 at 12:17 PM ^
Rest Eazy
December 10th, 2014 at 3:30 PM ^
Does this mean Ice Cube is going back to the jheri curl?
December 10th, 2014 at 11:20 AM ^
December 10th, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^
December 10th, 2014 at 11:31 AM ^
if the Raiders move to LA (or San Antonio or Poughkeepsie) and Sarah insists on staying in the Bay area, what's left? Cal? San Jose State? These decisions are tough on couples and families, no matter what the profession or the pay. Been there, done that. My unsolicited advice: consent to a move back to Michigan, hubby wins two national titles and pockets a few million more, the kids get to spend more QT with the grandfolks. And then move back to the Bay. Go for the win-win.
December 10th, 2014 at 1:20 PM ^
do the commute several times a week. In a private plane he can probably be home in less time than some people take to get through traffic jams to Marin or the East Bay.
December 10th, 2014 at 11:22 AM ^
How many times will this happen? LA is not a professional football town.
December 10th, 2014 at 11:26 AM ^
December 10th, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^
It's not like the fans turn up in Oakland. TV money trumps all and L.A is a bigger market.
December 10th, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^
Funny thing is, there are rumors that both the Raiders and Rams are moving back to LA.
Still, it is pretty amazing that a metro area the size of Los Angeles (population 13 million - 18 million, depending how you look at it) doesn't have an NFL franchise.
December 10th, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^
and the predominant rumor around here is that the Rams would more likely move to London...which I'm sure others have heard, too.
December 10th, 2014 at 11:38 AM ^
If they move to London, they will get fewer free agents than Buffalo. So few players will willing go there to play -- the timechange/stress for half your games (away) will be brutal, esp. trips to the west coast. Players who went there for games pretty overwhelming say they wouldn't want to play for a home team there.
December 10th, 2014 at 11:39 AM ^
The London Rams: doesn't that sound great? They would have an entire country behind them as a fanbase. The travel would suck, though.
December 10th, 2014 at 12:04 PM ^
They would have the tiny sliver of the UK that follows American football behind them as a fanbase.
Fixed it.
December 10th, 2014 at 1:17 PM ^
And they probably wouldn't travel very well. I'd think if the NFL really wanted to expand they'd have to have more than one team east of GMT. I'd think a London-Edinburgh NFL matchup would be pretty cool.
December 10th, 2014 at 1:27 PM ^
Edinburgh is way too small to support an NFL franchise. London is the only UK city that could possibly pull it off, and that's still very questionable. Other NFL franchises in Europe would have to be in places like Paris, Rome, Madrid, etc - huge cities that have enough U.S. ex-pats to possibly keep the team afloat until locals get into the sport (if they ever do).
It's just not a very functional idea.
December 10th, 2014 at 12:11 PM ^
How about the England Monarchy.
Instant rivalry with the New England Patriots.
December 10th, 2014 at 12:17 PM ^
December 10th, 2014 at 12:15 PM ^
The London Claymores!!!! NFL Europe baby
December 10th, 2014 at 12:19 PM ^
December 10th, 2014 at 1:05 PM ^
OTOH, I've thought for a while the MLB should establish a team in Santo Domingo. It's not too far away, and the DR is beyond obsessed with baseball.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
December 10th, 2014 at 1:23 PM ^
I've read about these NFL games in London. The crowds are said to be about a 50-50 split between U.S. ex-pats/European fans and they come from all over Europe. (U.S. servicemen in Germany like to make the trip, apparently.) The novelty of occasional games there can fill up the stadium, but it seems questionable whether these same people would plunk down four figures for a PSD to see a single, London-based franchise all season.
As for MLB in the DR, it's simply way too poor to support a franchise, and the language barrier wouldn't help.
December 10th, 2014 at 11:34 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
December 10th, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^
No not the LA Raiders, they will be the Los Angeles Raiders of Anaheim!
December 10th, 2014 at 11:44 AM ^
Depending on which of the proposed sites were to be used, if the move were in fact to happen, it could very well be the Los Angeles Raiders Of Inglewood. One of the proposals would apparently put the team across the street from the Forum. The Los Angeles Times also talked about another proposal to make any football team that moves there the other occupant of Chavez Ravine and be right next door to the Dodgers.
December 10th, 2014 at 11:29 AM ^
But both teams left 20 years ago. Since then, the NFL has grown in popularity considerably. Plus the market is quite large.
December 10th, 2014 at 11:33 AM ^
Wasn't the reason for the move back to Oakland in the 90's revolving around the blackout rule and the fact games were going to be blacked out because they couldn't fill the Coliseum? With that rule pretty much gone and the potential for some other smaller stadium that can more easily be filled, it may just work this time...
December 10th, 2014 at 1:20 PM ^
not true. the LA market is huge for the chargers, which is why the chargers would hate if LA got a team.
December 10th, 2014 at 3:14 PM ^
The timing of [his job change], Grubman confirmed, correlates to the expiring leases in St. Louis and Oakland, the stadium projects in L.A.—and the fact that the league has achieved long-term labor and TV deals that allow the NFL “to perhaps take some additional risks that we might have been uncomfortable taking a few years ago.” At NFL headquarters, Grubman called the idea of a league-built, league-owned stadium “visionary.” “It would serve a greater purpose than simply returning a team to Los Angeles—team, or teams. It would serve as a West Coast center of gravity for the NFL as an entertainment property,” Grubman said. “There’s no better place on the planet to do that than the Los Angeles market—the intersection of entertainment, celebrity and business.” A league-owned stadium in L.A., Grubman said, could theoretically host the NFL Pro Bowl, Super Bowls and the NFL draft, serving as a catalyst to propel the NFL even higher into the business stratosphere. “It’s a market that could support two teams. Therefore, if we build a stadium there, whether it’s league-built or club-sponsored, it’s likely that stadium would be built to accommodate two teams,” Grubman said.
December 10th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
December 10th, 2014 at 11:32 AM ^
December 10th, 2014 at 11:26 AM ^
The only way the NFL would allow the Raiders to move to LA is if Davis gives up the ownership of the team which he will never do. The better bet is the Rams going to LA assuming the Chargers allow it which isn't happening.
December 10th, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^
Why would he have to give up ownership? I don't know anything about this stuff.
December 10th, 2014 at 11:40 AM ^
December 10th, 2014 at 11:34 AM ^
Who is this guy?!
December 10th, 2014 at 11:38 AM ^
He's Ian Rapoport - The most insidery insider that ever insidered.
Actual answer - The guy who said Mich/Harbaugh met and we walked away "convinced" that he wanted to stay in the NFL.
December 10th, 2014 at 11:41 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
December 10th, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^
I'm sure these things take time, right? /s
December 10th, 2014 at 11:41 AM ^
December 10th, 2014 at 11:44 AM ^
Many in the Oakland area are saying that there really isn't anything strong going on with discussions in keeping the Raiders in Oakland. I feel this is good news in regards to the Harbaugh situation.
December 10th, 2014 at 12:00 PM ^
December 10th, 2014 at 12:14 PM ^
SF's say in this is minimal at best. They can't trade Harbaugh anywhere he doesn't want to go. I'm pretty convinced he would never go to the Raiders, since they're one of if not the most dysfunctional organizations in professional sports. He'd never get the kind of control he will be most certainly demanding, and it'll be SF management problems all over again, only magnified. That being said, probably one of the only things the Raiders have going for them is their location, in the Bay Area. Move them and that goes away too.
December 10th, 2014 at 12:01 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
December 10th, 2014 at 12:03 PM ^
It would take the whole "his wife wants to stay in the bay area" thing off the table. I'm not sure that had any credibility in the first place, but it's oft repeated.
December 10th, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^
December 10th, 2014 at 12:18 PM ^
having lived in AA, SF and LA, i'll say that the lifestyle/culture difference between LA and SF is much greater than SF vs. Ann Arbor. That being said, LA is still an awesome place to live.