Think yourself lucky.

[newyankee]

 Think yourself lucky that you live in a country where supporters are at least thought of. It has just been announced by the NFL that the St Louis Rams will be re-located to Los Angeles, lock, stock and barrel. Stuff you Rams supporters who have been there all these years. Yes, it is back to their original home which they left due to lack of interest.

They have also told San Diego Chargers that they have an option to move to Los Angeles for the following season. If they turn this down then the Oakland Raiders will be given the option.

 Can you imagine a Premier League side being told by the Premier League officials that from next season they would be playing in and be known as a German or Spanish team, but still in the Premiership?  Imagine the uproar in London, Manchester or Liverpool.

[newyankee]

I forgot to say that this is effective from next season,  they have already played their last game in St Louis.

[GM-MarkB]

Hang on though Yankee, you could argue that the Rams are 'going home' seeing as they moved to St Louis from Anaheim in 1994 after almost 50 years in LA.

You could also argue that the Chargers would have been 'going home' too.

[BillyStubbsTears]

That's the club that USED to be the LA Rams. And before that, the Cleveland Rams.

Bizarre sport. On one level (the way they handle the draft) it's quasi Marxist (to each according to their need). But then you get this level of franchising.

[newyankee]

They also have a salary cap whereby you spend all your money on the main players and have space wasters making up the squad. This means if your quarterback goes down with a season ending injury you have to play with what you have. You cannot go out and get another top quarterback as you can over in the UK during the two windows.

 This means that in most cases, the supporters are left knowing they have no chance of a decent season, one more thing where the supporters are left high and dry.

 As for both teams returning home, they both left due to poor support in the first place. Rather like Hartlepool moving to Darlington and then going back to Hartlepool 20 years later.

[newyankee]

Not going mad. it looks like we have quarterbacks in our FOOTBALL, I meant to say a star player, forward or defender, there is always the opportunity to replace them.

[GM-MarkB]

A city needs a Team as opposed to the other way round. The list of teams moving is as long as your arm in the NFL...usually stemming from the City being unwilling or too slow to build the Team a new Stadium, or to upgrade the exsiting facility.

Bob Irsay's midnight flit of the Colts is perhaps the most notorious

[graingrover]

It happened in England's Professional Women's football two seasons ago when Lincoln Ladies franchise was transfered to Notts County ..(. and Belles were relegated in favour of Man City irrespective of their respective results and league positions ).

[The Red Baron]

I think a Salary Cap has some merit, but franchise moves are a no-no for me.

Sadly English football is not immune to them. MK Dons are the most obvious example, but Arsenal moved from one end of London to another before WW1. And in the 1920s the owner of Huddersfield Town tried to shift the club to Leeds. The authorities didn't object, but the supporters rallied round and kept the club in Huddersfield.

[GM-MarkB]

Also expect the Rams new stadium to be hosting a SuperBowl once it opens

The 49ers moved to Levi Stadium last season and are hosting SB50 this year. The Vikings are moving to a new stadium and have secured the right to hold a SB.

The NFL is just a massive money making business. There's no way the owners would have approved this move unless there was plenty in it for the other 31 teams

[jamesrover17]

Also, I believe the owner of the Rams wanted to move back to LA and a vote from the other 32 owners in the league was needed to confirm, 30 out of 32 approved the move

[PDX_Rover]

The Oakland Raiders are staying put and getting a new $110m stadium. Really I have no interest in the NFL. The college game is much more vibrant.

[Rios]

The difference is that the NFL make no bones about it.  It's a 32 team "franchise".  The clubs don't belong to the cities, the franchise is bought, normally with promises of new stadiums from the public purse or as in the case of the Rams the lure of getting back into the second biggest (13m people) TV market in America.

The NFL is what the Premiership would be now if they could get away with it.  Close the trap door, get rid of the smaller teams (Bournemouth, Norwich, etc) promote Leeds and Derby and then the owners can use that against their host councils/areas to get better stadiums, etc or entice other areas to poach them.

As for the actual move, I'd be surprised if that was the end of it.  Oakland have been left out in the cold, are stuck in a run-down stadium shared with the baseball team and their lease has just expired.  If I was their owner I'd be on the phone to the Chargers, asking them to use their one year option now and sod off to LA, so that Oakland can move to San Diego where the authorities have already started the process for a $1.1billion stadium.

[Rios]

The Oakland Raiders are staying put and getting a new $110m stadium. Really I have no interest in the NFL. The college game is much more vibrant.

£110m doesn't buy you a 70,000 stadium.  The $100m is the money the NFL are willing to contribute to the teams to help them stay where they currently are... they just need to find the other $900m or so balance.

[Colin C No.3]

Wimbledon F.C. - MK Dons.

[bally1950]

How do you think GRIMSBY TOWN feel, them poor sods have NEVER played a home game

[Ronnie Dovers]

This is a great/hilarious/unbelievable watch on the madness of American sports stadiums, and talks about the Rams, Raiders and Chargers situation. John Oliver killing it again.

[GM-MarkB]

The difference is that the NFL make no bones about it.  It's a 32 team "franchise".  The clubs don't belong to the cities, the franchise is bought, normally with promises of new stadiums from the public purse or as in the case of the Rams the lure of getting back into the second biggest (13m people) TV market in America.

The NFL is what the Premiership would be now if they could get away with it.  Close the trap door, get rid of the smaller teams (Bournemouth, Norwich, etc) promote Leeds and Derby and then the owners can use that against their host councils/areas to get better stadiums, etc or entice other areas to poach them.

As for the actual move, I'd be surprised if that was the end of it.  Oakland have been left out in the cold, are stuck in a run-down stadium shared with the baseball team and their lease has just expired.  If I was their owner I'd be on the phone to the Chargers, asking them to use their one year option now and sod off to LA, so that Oakland can move to San Diego where the authorities have already started the process for a $1.1billion stadium.

The reason that the Raiders are back in Oakland is the ages old argument of Al Davis with the NFL. Davis couldn't get the upgrade of the LA Collusiem he wanted so took the team back across the Bay as he was promised what he wanted. Davis is dead now and the upgrade wasn't done.