Surf's up: Los Angeles fans do indeed love pro football, but they have better things to do than sit around and worry about landing a new team

Football Digest, Dec, 2003 by Joe Donatelli

THOUSANDS OF WORDS HAVE been written about Los Angeles' failure to land an NFL franchise. Since Al Davis took the Raiders back to Oakland and Georgia Frontiere moved the Rams from the West Coast to the Midwest following the 1994 season, the nation's second-largest television market has been without pro football, save for the plucky Avengers of the Arena League.

As a result, civic leaders and NFL executives have come under fire--and for good reason. Nobody seems to know where a new team would play, who would own it, or when it might get there. The latest contender--the Chargers--could leave San Diego tomorrow. Or never. No one knows.

While much of the criticism is warranted, it does not cut to the heart of the matter, which is this: The people of Los Angeles, by and large, do not care if the city gets a pro football team. Poll results and anecdotal evidence show there is only slight interest in landing a new team and certainly nothing close to what might be called popular support. (The kind of support, it's worth noting, that can put wind in a businessman's sails at the NFL negotiating table.)

So let's tackle the L.A. issue from another, more straightforward angle. Is the problem that L.A. can't win over the NFL? Or is it that the NFL can't win over L.A.?

Ask Tom Mack, a Hall of Fame guard who played for the Los Angeles Rams, what he thinks of L.A. sports fans and the first thing he does is laugh. Mack played in Los Angeles during football's glory days there, the 1970s.

"I think it's a demanding town, and it probably has continued to be very demanding from the point of view that people have lots of entertainment choices," says Mack, who now works for the Bechtel Corporation. "People expect a winner. If you're not a winner, then they're not inclined to support your team. I think the Lakers and the Clippers [in the NBA] are the best examples of that."

That sums up your typical Los Angeles sports fan. Whether he is a television producer or a day laborer, he demands a winner. He simply doesn't have time to trifle with losers. (We say "he" to save space and time. Please know that we also mean women, too.)

He is busy. If he's not working two minimum-wage jobs, then he's working a regular job and taking training in his field of interest. Or perhaps he works 80-hour weeks at the job of his dreams. He is very likely from somewhere else--be it Mexico or Chicago--so his sports allegiances are probably to another team or sport.

He already spends sports dollars on the very popular Lakers and Dodgers, and maybe the Kings, Bruins, and Trojans, too. He has world-class movie theaters, comedy dubs, restaurants, and bars at his disposal. He enjoys year-round access to individual sports such as body-boarding, surfing, biking, hiking, and jogging or outdoor team sports such as soccer, volleyball, softball, and baseball.

Most importantly, he has options every Sunday. He lives less than 30 minutes from the beach, 30 minutes from the mountains, 30 minutes from the desert, one hour from Disneyland, three hours from Mexico, four hours from Las Vegas, six hours from San Francisco, and has the most scenic portions of historic Route 66 a day-drive away.

During Mack's career from 1966 to 1978, the Rams won eight division titles and played in four NFC title games. It was a span in which the team enjoyed 12 winning seasons and compiled an impressive 129-48-7 record.

But where was the love? "When we played against Cleveland or Detroit, we could count on there being 10,000 fans from the other team in our home stadium," Mack says. "I would ask these guys, 'Why don't you cheer for Los Angeles?' They would tell me their loyalty was still with Cleveland. We won division titles and playoffs, but by the time I left, people were still mad that we never won a Super Bowl."

This much fans and experts agree on: An NFL team would do fine in LA. But for the game to truly thrive, the way it does in Green Bay or Denver, a new team would have to win early and often.

And there's the rub. The current NFL structure--one in which parity is valued over an exclusive competitive advantage--prohibits dynasties What Mack and his Rams did would be almost impossible to replicate today given the salary cap, free agency, and scheduling. The day of the dynasty has been replaced by the day of the 88 team. Last year 15 of 32 teams finished between 7-9 and 9-7, including the entire AFC East.

If there is one city outside of New York certain not to suffer a 7-9 season gladly, it's Los Angeles. Brian Irish, an executive with the Southern California Cleveland Browns Backers, says he would not expect much support for a hometown loser. Football in the Midwest and West Coast are two separate entities.

"After living in the Midwest, in Cleveland and a few other cities, you definitely see sports, and football in particular, play a larger role in the culture," he says. "Whether it's around the water cooler or the dinner table, there seems to be a consistent focus on football. Here you don't have that."