NFL Merry-Go-Round: Relocation Roundelay

[leopard88]

6 hours ago, Walk-Off said:

@Red Comet, while I think that this is the most sensible way to structure the AFC should the Chargers head for London and be allowed by the NFL to stay in their present conference, the Miami Dolphins' long history of pandering to Northeasterners visiting South Florida and especially to South Florida residents who used to live in the Northeast has me wondering about how likely it would be that the Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills fight each other over which of those teams gets to stay in the AFC East.  If the Phins win -- and the Bills lose -- the privilege of playing in an AFC East with the New England Patriots, the New York Jets, and a London team that may or may not have the Chargers nickname, then the league's best choice for realigning the AFC would be:

1. to put the Houston Texans in the Chargers' position in the AFC West, as you suggest;
2. to make the Baltimore Ravens replace the Texans in the AFC South, and thus not only revive the Ravens' former rivalries with the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars, but also foment a twice-per-regular-season grudge match against the Baltimore-turned-Indianapolis Colts; and
3. to have the Bills replace the Ravens in the AFC North, where at least the Bills would have rivalries with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns.

 

If this were to happen (extremely large if), I think the most likely realignment scenario would be:

 

1.  Chargers to AFC South

2.  Texans to AFC West.

 

Your suggestion makes the most geographic sense.  However, I think the league would do as much as it could to maintain the existing AFC East rivalries and would also be hesitant to split up the AFC North.  The Ravens' division rivalries with the Titans and Jaguars only lasted six seasons and ended in 2001.

[Gothamite]

3 hours ago, the admiral said:

This league is absolutely wretched and is doggedly chasing down the NHL in having the most contempt for its customers. 

 

Between this and the NFL's absolutely scummy behavior around the CTE debacle, it's becoming really hard for a fan of this sport to be a fan of this sport.

[JayMac]

13 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

 

Between this and the NFL's absolutely scummy behavior around the CTE debacle, it's becoming really hard for a fan of this sport to be a fan of this sport.

Goodell has done everything in his power to run this league into the ground. Ultimately, it has to all catch up with him. 

[FiddySicks]

I've always secretly hoped that Bob Kraft would move his team to London so we could end up with the England Patriots. 

[tp49]

Dean could always move his team to Stockton, which I hear is lovely this time of year. 

[Sport]

1 hour ago, Gothamite said:

 

Between this and the NFL's absolutely scummy behavior around the CTE debacle, it's becoming really hard for a fan of this sport to be a fan of this sport.

 

It doesn't help that my local and favorite team is both terrible and seemingly avoids winning on purpose, but I haven't enjoyed watching the NFL in about five years and I don't know if I ever will again. I've watched 4 games this season and no games that didn't involve the Cincinnati Bengals. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. If you'd told me that in the fall of 2006 when I was locked in on the NFL like it was the only thing in the world that mattered, I would've been floored. 

 

I'm almost at the point where I'm rooting for the hometown team to GTFO when their lease expires after 2026 so we can focus our attention more on our MLB, MLS and college sports teams. Supporting an NFL team now feels icky. 

[Sec19Row53]

2 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

Between this and the NFL's absolutely scummy behavior around the CTE debacle, it's becoming really hard for a fan of this sport to be a fan of this sport.

Nope.

 

Not at all.

 

Never crossed my mind.

 

I don't intend to change anyone's opinon with my stance, but I've heard enough of this. Whether or to what extent the NFL is guilty in this, I don't really care. I enjoy watching the NFL, and will be unapologetically a fan of the NFL for as long as I live.

[FiddySicks]

34 minutes ago, McCarthy said:

I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. If you'd told me that in the fall of 2006 when I was locked in on the NFL like it was the only thing in the world that mattered, I would've been floored. 

 

This is where I'm at with it. I used to be so absolutely fervent in my fandom and I thought that was never going to change. Now, I look at the show they make of it, which I once absolutely loved, and now find it to be kind of embarrassing. It's just SO over the top and they take all if it so much more seriously than it has any right being. Add to that the many things about the NFL (Football, in general) that are problematic, and worse, the way they try to sweep so much of that under the rug, and I'm pretty much totally out on watching NFL football. I still enjoy a lot ofthe residuals of it (And being a sports fan in general it's pretty hard to avoid NFL talk when it dominates so much of the airwaves), no doubt. But I can't remember the last time I actually sat down and paid attention to a game without getting bored to tears or just plain annoyed at the excess of it all. 

 

 

You and I are about the same age. I think it may just be a sign that we're finally growing up a  bit. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

3 minutes ago, Sec19Row53 said:

Nope.

 

Not at all.

 

Never crossed my mind.

 

I don't intend to change anyone's opinon with my stance, but I've heard enough of this. Whether or to what extent the NFL is guilty in this, I don't really care. I enjoy watching the NFL, and will be unapologetically a fan of the NFL for as long as I live.

 

FWIW, I think the NFL is a garbage organization run by garbage people, but I've been watching the Bills while they're good and have been rooting for its success.

 

And given that I'm not personally profiting off the NFL, nor am I downplaying any of the risks or standing in the way of players receiving benefits they deserve, I think I'm allowed to have it both ways.

 

I've been thinking a lot about the efficacy of shaming people out of their choices (I wonder what prompted that!), and I realized it just doesn't work. You've got to meet people where they are. If people like football, fine; maybe we can talk about proper payment -- we've already made significant progress at the collegiate level. If people want players to perform, perhaps the conversation is about safety and making sure they have the right equipment and the rules are written in the right way to support their long-term viability.

 

At its core, American football is a game with a lot of appeals to a lot of people. And there is a way to move the needle into the right direction that doesn't necessarily need to paint its supporters as bloodthirsty monsters. Not saying that anyone in this thread is doing so; I'm just more thinking aloud on my own support of the product.

[Gothamite]

12 minutes ago, Sec19Row53 said:

I don't intend to change anyone's opinon with my stance, but I've heard enough of this. Whether or to what extent the NFL is guilty in this, I don't really care. I enjoy watching the NFL, and will be unapologetically a fan of the NFL for as long as I live.

 

That's okay.  It's your right.

 

And I understand it, especially from a Packer fan.  I've been there.  Hard to turn your back on all that history, hard to give up the sport where Wisconsin is not only important but actual sacred ground. 

 

But that doesn't change the fact that the people who run our sport have done some very, very bad things.  Bad enough to make some of us think about giving that all up.  Even if you're personally not at that point, it's hard to ignore what they've done and continue to do.

[Camden Crazy]

2 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

Between this and the NFL's absolutely scummy behavior around the CTE debacle, it's becoming really hard for a fan of this sport to be a fan of this sport.

 

Becoming?  Sheeeeit, this is my 5th season not watching.  Lot of other sports out there to fill the gap without the human car crashes on every play.

[Sec19Row53]

20 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

 

That's okay.  It's your right.

 

And I understand it, especially from a Packer fan.  I've been there.  Hard to turn your back on all that history, hard to give up the sport where Wisconsin is not only important but actual sacred ground. 

 

But that doesn't change the fact that the people who run our sport have done some very, very bad things.  Bad enough to make some of us think about giving that all up.  Even if you're personally not at that point, it's hard to ignore what they've done and continue to do.

My takeaway - if you limit your life (royal you here - 100% sure @Gothamite understands that - it's for everyone else) to only where people have NOT done very, very bad things --- well, you can't

[FiddySicks]

6 minutes ago, Sec19Row53 said:

My takeaway - if you limit your life to only where people have NOT done very, very bad things --- well, you can't

 

And that's the beauty of it in this case. A lot of times you don't really have the luxury of choice when it comes to walking away from something you find to be morally problematic. If you have a job where you work for a company that is actively ruining the lives of people involved with it (IE: Let's use PG&E in this case, just for funsies), it's not as easy as just dropping all of that and walking away when they're how you facilitate making the money you need to live. 

 

In this case though? It's a form of entertainment. Again, like Gothamite, I certainly won't openly begrudge anyone who chooses to watch the NFL. That's your choice, and if you can look past all of the issues associated with it, by all means, knock yourself out. There is just a certain faction of people out there who find that the problematic things about football outweigh the entertainment benefits. 

 

Also, just so we're clear, I don't say that with a single ounce of judgement or superiority to anyone who does watch and enjoy football. There are PLENTY of things I partake in that I know fully are problematic, yet I still partake in because the enjoyment factor rises to a level above how much the downsides of it bother me. Football just isn't one of them any more. 

[Red Comet]

22 minutes ago, Sec19Row53 said:

My takeaway - if you limit your life (royal you here - 100% sure @Gothamite understands that - it's for everyone else) to only where people have NOT done very, very bad things --- well, you can't

 

This. I mean, wasn't there a MAJOR scandal a couple years ago about people in Hollywood abusing their power in the most horrific ways? I still go to the movies occasionally and I'm sure a lot of you all do too. It's the nature of the beast, you get away with more if you're rich and successful. Been that way since the first caveman decided to become a chief and it'll be that way til the end of time. Doesn't make it right but as long as people being starstruck is a thing, people like that will always get away with things we can never get away with.

[Sec19Row53]

20 minutes ago, Bucfan56 said:

 

And that's the beauty of it in this case. A lot of times you don't really have the luxury of choice when it comes to walking away from something you find to be morally problematic. If you have a job where you work for a company that is actively ruining the lives of people involved with it (IE: Let's use PG&E in this case, just for funsies), it's not as easy as just dropping all of that and walking away when they're how you facilitate making the money you need to live. 

 

In this case though? It's a form of entertainment. Again, like Gothamite, I certainly won't openly begrudge anyone who chooses to watch the NFL. That's your choice, and if you can look past all of the issues associated with it, by all means, knock yourself out. There is just a certain faction of people out there who find that the problematic things about football outweigh the entertainment benefits. 

 

Also, just so we're clear, I don't say that with a single ounce of judgement or superiority to anyone who does watch and enjoy football. There are PLENTY of things I partake in that I know fully are problematic, yet I still partake in because the enjoyment factor rises to a level above how much the downsides of it bother me. Football just isn't one of them any more. 

Well stated. Your final paragraph was totally not needed, but like me with the whole royal you thing - I get it

[The_Admiral]

London may be the one major city that wants the Chargers less than Los Angeles does. This whole relocation business, with the exception of the Rams, has been a disgrace.

[JayMac]

I am still a fan of the sport of American football and to a lesser degree, the NFL. Like some of you, I still watch but I am not nearly as invested as I used to be. There are many reasons for my increasing indifference - rules catered to high scoring, awful officiating, etc., but the biggest one for me may be player safety. I lost my brother to suicide last summer and while he never played football, he did suffer at least 4 concussions while playing a sport in high school. He also suffered from PTSD as he fought overseas while he served in The Marines. There were a lot of factors in his depression and ultimately his choice to end his life, but I can't help but feel for these players who obviously suffer from depression due to CTE. I don't know if I'll ever stop watching completely but I know I'll never invest a ton of time on Sundays for the league. 

 

Sorry to get so off-topic. 

[ScubaSteve]

per The Atlantic: https://theathletic.com/1347540/2019/11/04/with-london-ready-for-an-nfl-team-the-chargers-have-been-discussed-as-a-possible-option/

 

Let the speculation begin!

[hawk36]

Well if they won't move back where they belong in San Diego, they may as well move to London. And, the whole charging horse and shield work well there too. London Chargers. 

[neo_prankster]

2 hours ago, Sec19Row53 said:

I don't intend to change anyone's opinon with my stance, but I've heard enough of this. Whether or to what extent the NFL is guilty in this, I don't really care. I enjoy watching the NFL, and will be unapologetically a fan of the NFL for as long as I live.

 

Yeah, you and me both.

 

However, I would like to see how the new XFL will pan out.