There are now two cities that will be home to two NFL franchises. New York City (or East Rutherford, New Jersey if you want to get technical) hosts the Giants and the Jets at MetLife Stadium, and now the City of Los Angeles will play host to the Rams and Chargers.
The Rams will continue playing their home games at the Los Angeles Coliseum for two more years, and the Chargers will play its home games at the much smaller StubHub Center (MLS facility) in Carson for two seasons.
Both teams will then migrate to Kroenke’s mecca in Inglewood upon its completion, the Chargers as a tenant seeing that Kroenke will own the stadium.
This will make Los Angeles the only city in the U.S. to have two sports franchises from the same sport to play at the same venue…in two different sports (the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers have played at Staples Center for years). The aforementioned MetLife Stadium is the only other venue to house two franchises from the same sport.
So what will happen? Will adding two NFL franchises to Los Angeles cause the sports bubble to burst? People always mutter how football can’t survive in L.A. because there is just too much to do.
Wrong.
Here is the correct statement: “BAD football can’t survive in L.A. because there is just too much to do.”
The Browns can be bad in Cleveland because, let’s face it, what else is there to do in Cleveland? No offense to anyone living in Cleveland, a great American and hard-working city.
There is the common belief in Los Angeles that it is, and always will be, a Lakers Town. Why do you think this is? Let me tell you why. Because the Lakers have won 16 NBA Championships and 31 Conference Championships.
It’s Hollywood baby, if the show and the product are good, the seats, tickets and TV deals will get sold.
What is going to happen in L.A. over the next few years is going to be, in my opinion, an extremely exciting time period in the history of the NFL.
A modern day arms race if you will. A Cold War in The City of Angeles. But, instead of weapon upgrades and nuclear enhancement, it will be player acquisitions and draft prowess. It will be gridiron success with a touch of Hollywood flair.
If you are a Ram’s fan you should be ecstatic that the Chargers moved up the 5-freeway. And if you a true Chargers fan (especially one that lives in L.A.) then you should feel blessed that the Chargers left San Diego.
When teams enter training camp it is always their goal to win the Super Bowl. To win their division, then win their conference, and then win the Super Bowl. If that’s not their goal then they have no reason being in the league.
But not many teams have to compete with a team that they won’t even be playing!
Let me put it this way. The Rams have a history in L.A., and they came back to the city a year before the Chargers, but that won’t do jack for them if they don’t win. Unless you’re over the age of 35, you don’t have a history with the Los Angeles Rams. They are a new team that won 4 games in 2016. If they have two more seasons of mediocrity or no playoff appearances, those “new fans” will abandon ship quick.
The Chargers come in with a veteran quarterback and an overall better roster than the Rams. They just loved losing games in the final two minutes. What if that changes? What if Anthony Lynn can catapult the Chargers into the playoffs. What if the Chargers win a playoff game, or two over the next few seasons?
If this happens, I can all but guarantee the Chargers will be the more popular Los Angeles team when the two join up in the new stadium in Inglewood.
And that is why this is going to be such an entertaining arms race.
That is why the Rams hired Sean McVay, the youngest coach in NFL history. The “boringness” of the Fisher regime must by stamped out by the excitement of a new McVay leadership.
That is why the Chargers hired Anthony Lynn to replace Mike McCoy. A fresh face for a fresh move that will steer the Chargers in a new direction.
There is a lot of money to be had in the confines of Los Angeles County. The 2nd largest media market. The 2nd largest Metropolitan area. A fan base that is hungry for a championship. A fan base, that largely, does not have an allegiance to a specific team.
And so it begins. The Battle of the San Gabriels. The Battle for Griffith Park. The Battle for the Beaches. The Battle for Los Angeles.
May the best team win.