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L.A. fans don't just give their devotion, teams have to earn it
| September 19, 2017 04:13PM | Registered: 14 years ago Posts: 26,187 Status: HOF Inductee |
L.A. fans don't just give their devotion, teams have to earn it
Bill Plaschke
Two weeks into the NFL season, Los Angeles has two teams with a combined one victory, yet it seems the biggest criticism is being leveled at all those people with the audacity to ignore them.
The national narrative is not about the Rams and Chargers, but about the empty seats surrounding them, and whether Los Angeles is a good sports town. How dare anyone turn their backs on a mighty NFL gracious enough to grace our grounds with its riches.
Everyone wants to know, what’s wrong with us?
To those billionaire owners who think their teams should be supported unconditionally, the more pertinent question is, what’s wrong with you?
All those viral images of a half-filled Coliseum for a Rams team that won one-fourth of its games last year is not a bad look, it’s a smart look. Los Angeles didn’t ask for the Rams. It refused to pay for the Rams. Its sports landscape survived 22 years just fine without the Rams. So when the Rams spent their first season accruing only four wins and firing their coach while playing the dull football, potential fans turned their backs, and who can blame them?
The reason pro football was absent around here for so long is because the NFL has always needed Los Angeles more than Los Angeles needed the NFL. Only now is everyone seeing how that looks. While an NFL owner’s arrival in some cities is treated like the coming of a messiah, Stan Kroenke showed up on South Figueroa as just another new businessman peddling another new product. There was no community obligation to fall at his feet and occupy his seats. All the obligation belongs to Kroenke. If he puts out a winning and entertaining product, Los Angeles’ discerning sports consumers will buy and, if not, they’ll ignore. That’s just how it works here.
The Rams know this. They understand it. So last winter they hired a new young coach who instilled an exciting offense and by the end of the season, here’s guessing they will create some buzz. But it’s going to take time. While they drew 91,046 fans for last season’s Coliseum homecoming against Seattle, that number dwindled to 56,612 for Sunday’s loss to Washington. No apologies from the crowd are necessary.
It’s not about the fans, it’s about the Rams.
Read Complete Article
[www.latimes.com]
Bill Plaschke
Two weeks into the NFL season, Los Angeles has two teams with a combined one victory, yet it seems the biggest criticism is being leveled at all those people with the audacity to ignore them.
The national narrative is not about the Rams and Chargers, but about the empty seats surrounding them, and whether Los Angeles is a good sports town. How dare anyone turn their backs on a mighty NFL gracious enough to grace our grounds with its riches.
Everyone wants to know, what’s wrong with us?
To those billionaire owners who think their teams should be supported unconditionally, the more pertinent question is, what’s wrong with you?
All those viral images of a half-filled Coliseum for a Rams team that won one-fourth of its games last year is not a bad look, it’s a smart look. Los Angeles didn’t ask for the Rams. It refused to pay for the Rams. Its sports landscape survived 22 years just fine without the Rams. So when the Rams spent their first season accruing only four wins and firing their coach while playing the dull football, potential fans turned their backs, and who can blame them?
The reason pro football was absent around here for so long is because the NFL has always needed Los Angeles more than Los Angeles needed the NFL. Only now is everyone seeing how that looks. While an NFL owner’s arrival in some cities is treated like the coming of a messiah, Stan Kroenke showed up on South Figueroa as just another new businessman peddling another new product. There was no community obligation to fall at his feet and occupy his seats. All the obligation belongs to Kroenke. If he puts out a winning and entertaining product, Los Angeles’ discerning sports consumers will buy and, if not, they’ll ignore. That’s just how it works here.
The Rams know this. They understand it. So last winter they hired a new young coach who instilled an exciting offense and by the end of the season, here’s guessing they will create some buzz. But it’s going to take time. While they drew 91,046 fans for last season’s Coliseum homecoming against Seattle, that number dwindled to 56,612 for Sunday’s loss to Washington. No apologies from the crowd are necessary.
It’s not about the fans, it’s about the Rams.
Read Complete Article
[www.latimes.com]
| Subject | Author | Views | Posted |
|---|---|---|---|
 | RamBill | 273 | September 19, 2017 04:13PM |
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This web site is in no way affiliated with the NFL or the Los Angeles Rams.