3. NFL dropped the ball on the whole Los Angeles dynamic
It’s now readily apparent that the NFL wasn’t against the Raiders themselves moving away from Northern California. Monday’s vote that went 31-1 in favor of relocation magnifies this to a T. The league just didn’t want Mark Davis’ squad to end up in Los Angeles.
The reasoning here is simple. The long-term viability of a two-team market in Los Angeles just wasn’t there if one of those teams were the Raiders. They are just too darn popular in Southern California.
Simply put, if the Raiders had joined the Rams in Inglewood it would have made the latter pretty much irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Considering that stadium plan was put forth and backed by Rams owner Stan Kroenke, this was never really a viable option.
Instead, the NFL has two teams in Los Angeles, neither of which represent the fan base in that city as much as if the Raiders had moved. And for their part, the Raiders themselves are now just a three-plus hour drive from Los Angeles. Considering their die-hard fan base in that city, will this end up impacting both the Chargers and the Rams?
Remember, the Chargers just recently sold out their 30,000-seat venue in Carson this week. That’s two months after the team announced its relocation and opened up ticket sales. The Chargers in San Diego might have never been sustainable without a new venue, but it’s now apparant that they are doomed to fail in Los Angeles. In reality, Dean Spanos and Co. are nothing more than second-class citizens to the Rams. Think about just how sad that is.