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Major NFL Relocation Hits California Fans

Sure, it’s just a game but it also happens to be by far the most popular one, entrenched in American culture like the automobile and the smartphone. You guessed right, pro football.
The sport is also the most transient and fickle, with teams constantly playing musical chairs and moving to different cities. The latest examples of greed and disloyalty both took place this month a few 100 freeway miles south and north of San Luis Obispo, as Chargers owner Dean Spanos uprooted his last-place team for supposedly greener pastures in L.A. — after 56 seasons in San Diego.

Three days later, bowl-haircut styling, Mark Davis, Al’s son, and new Raiders owner, announced the filing of relocation papers to move his franchise to Las Vegas, all but ensuring the team will leave Oakland — again.
So this got me thinking, who rightfully controls a pro franchise: the individual business owner or the city where they play? The beauty of college sports programs like Cal Poly is being a perpetual part of the community. No one is moving the campus to King City.
Now I believe in free enterprise just like any red-blooded American but there’s got to be limits and rules. As George Costanza said, “We’re living in a society.” Plus, a pro sports team is really a public good for these large cities, not unlike a university or central park. So as a major community asset, shouldn’t that city have a say in the future of its team?
Adding to the frustration and dismay in both Oakland and San Diego is that these two owners are billionaires through no hard work or smarts, they both inherited these valuable franchises. And under their dismal leadership, both teams have performed poorly the past several years. But now, a strong and passionate fan base that greatly enriched them has seen their loyalty betrayed.
Spanos and Davis are not bright guys, consistently making terrible decisions while riding a wave of unprecedented popularity of pro football. Just like Trump and Bush-II, they were born on third base and thought they hit a triple.
Still, this relocation trend boils down to building new, modern taxpayer-funded stadiums that rich businessmen love but cities don’t always want or can’t afford. So NFL owners hold their cities hostage by courting other municipalities and constantly threatening to depart.
Baltimore, Cleveland, Houston and St. Louis all lost their beloved teams and now it’s Oakland and San Diego’s turn, leaving their many Central Coast fans to decide whether to remain devoted or find a new pastime on fall Sundays.
To quote another analogy, this one appropriately from the movie “Wall Street” — “That’s the thing about money, it makes you do things you shouldn’t do.”

Colin Jones is a freelance writer who occasionally sends us a missive for publication. Send letters to the Editor to: [email protected].
By Colin Jones

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