wasn't there a report that said LA watched LESS football after the Rams moved there?
Imagine going from watching the 2nd best game if the week (usually the 4:30 EST game is 2nd behind SNF) to watching the Rams every week. That is literally what happened in the metro LA area, and likely only a very very few swapped allegiances to the Rams when they moved. At least LA already had a moderate fan base for the Chargers (I read one fourth of Chargers season ticket holders were from LA area) even though it is a colossal backstab albeit to a city that wouldn't pay for them.
The Raiders are a cool team to support, the Rams and the Chargers most certainly aren't cool or popular teams. I don't get what their owners see in moving apart from having public funding for a stadium but i'm not an owner...
Will make me laugh next year when the Chargers don't sell out their 30,000 capacity stadium.
. This post represents a fundamental misunderstanding about how NFL teams make money. The money from personal seat liscenses, TV deals, corporate sponsorships, and public money going into the stadium is absolutely massive and many many times more valuable than what pocket change you or I buying tickets is worth. The Rams move to LA more than doubled their value (28th in 2015 to 6th in 2016) and they can't sell out a stadium in one of the most populated metros in the US. Expect a smaller but still very large jump in the Falcons worth next season, and they didn't even leave their market. There's money to be made, and we aren't paying for it with ticket sales but with taxes and gullibility. Teams following the biggest bidder or holding their cities hostage is the new norm.
