The St. Louis Rams are moving to Los Angeles. The National Football League has not had a presence in the second biggest market in the United States for years, and we knew that at least one team would move there for 2016.
While it is great for the league to have a team back in LA, and it will ridiculously profitable, there is also a side not often discussed out of the city itself.
St. Louis is losing its team.
Maybe it takes a fan who has lost a team to view it like that. In the past 40 years, the NFL has relocated eight teams; Oakland, Baltimore, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Houston, and now St. Louis again. Other than the Rams, every city has had a new team returned to it, proving there were no market failures.
That means this is the second time the city of St. Louis has had its heart ripped out. The Cardinals moved to Arizona to become a successful franchise. But seeing success in another market doesn’t ease the pain of a fanbase, but that’s not what these leagues are looking to do, anyways.
For major franchises in leagues such as the NFL or MLB, often times cities will be fooled into building gigantic stadiums, often using the money of taxpayers, in the silly hope that there might be loyalty.
Guess what? These sports franchises have no loyalty to their cities or fanbases. Just one look at the Baltimore Colts will tell you that. Any team could move on a dime.
Major League Baseball has seen just one relocation in 40 years, with the Montreal Expos moving to Washington D.C. in 2005. That has been the only movement in baseball since 1972 (outside of expansion twice in the 1990s).
The National Basketball Association has seen eight teams move in the past four decades; Baltimore, Buffalo, New Orleans, San Diego, Kansas City, Vancouver, Charlotte, and Seattle. New Orleans and Charlotte added teams again, but the other cities remain without one.
The National Hockey League, the league that is the closest semblance to lacrosse, has also seen seven moves; Atlanta, Colorado, Minnesota, Quebec, Winnipeg, Hartford, and Atlanta again. Atlanta ended up back in Winnipeg while Minnesota was granted an expansion franchise and Colorado received a new franchise via relocation from Quebec.
This perspective leads to a much more unstable landscape in professional sports than is often discussed. These leagues are run by billionaires and profit like many of us cannot imagine. So, why the instability? If you take a quick glance over most of these teams, you’ll notice the trend often leads to complaints about stadiums and arenas moreso than teams not getting attendance.
In fact, attendance is not nearly as big of an issue as it used to be with teams benefiting from television contracts. Organizations like the Tampa Bay Rays and Florida Panthers survive despite being at the bottom of league’s attendances.
This is where lacrosse, and many minor sports, jump into the conversation. Most of the times when these teams relocate it has a lot to do with attendance. The following teams have relocated, and folded, from the National Lacrosse League: Philadelphia, Baltimore, D.C. (twice), New Jersey, New York (twice), Detroit, Worcester, Boston (twice), Pittsburgh (twice), Charlotte, Syracuse, Hamilton, Albany, Ottawa, Columbus, Montreal, Vancouver, San Jose, Arizona, Anaheim, Minnesota, Portland, Edmonton, Orlando, Chicago, Everett.
That’s nearly every major market in North America, and it’s only been 30 years.
Vancouver ended up with a team again, but only in Langley, British Columbia, not at Rogers Arena like the old Vancouver Ravens played. New England has a team again, located in Connecticut, only because Philadelphia moved.
Most of the franchises listed were the victims of relocation. Ottawa became Edmonton and now, Saskatchewan. Minnesota is now Georgia. Albany became San Jose, Everett, and now Vancouver. Baltimore became Pittsburgh, D.C., and then became Colorado.
The others? Often the victims of ownership woes, just like the major leagues that rank so far ahead of lacrosse.
The Philadelphia Wings moved in 2014 after 28 years in the league. They were the consistency that lacrosse fans could hang onto. Their relocation ushered in a new era of the NLL, with four small arenas that do not host another major franchise. Attendance was dropping, but it was due to the lack of on the floor success.
In 2011 the Boston Blazers ceased operations after arena prices at the TD Garden became too much to sustain. The Swarm moved from Minnesota to Georgia in 2015 thanks to decreasing ticket sales, again, due to on the floor performance.
The Vancouver Ravens folded in 2005 due to “unstable ownership.” The Portland Lumberjax and Orlando Titans ceased for the same reasons.
And then you get to the Edmonton Rush. The Rush won the 2015 NLL championship and moved to Saskatchewan weeks later. Owner Bruce Urban had his heart set on relocating after not initially being invited to play in the new Edmonton Oilers arena.
In the end, when teams relocate in all sports, the fans are the ones who lose out. Lacrosse fans around North America have suffered more than any other sport fanbase. However, sometimes it feels like lacrosse fans have given into the reality that this is the way being a fan of this sport is going to be. Philadelphia moving was the metaphorical slap in the face that it could be anyone, at anytime.
The Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers have the option to join the Rams in LA. San Diego has the first opportunity. All three of these franchises have previously played in Los Angeles, leading anyone to wonder what has gone wrong with all three in the first place.
Lacrosse fans are the lucky ones. We will never be fooled into believing that there is loyalty among owners and fans, and we will always be bracing ourselves for the day we learn our heart has been ripped out. Football fans? The culture of the NFL will always have a feigned invincibility that it will never be you.
