The Saints

[nyk]

LA had the Raiders, and they lost them.

As did Oakland.

Your point?

My point is, when you've had 2 teams and lost both (the Rams & Raiders), you don't get another shot. This isn't the time of the Evansville Crimson whatevers, you can't just move every other weekend.

So What, Again Oakland lost the Raiders and accepted them back. St. Louis lost the Cardinals and got another team, Cleveland lost the Browns and got another one. So did Houston. Because LA lost (3) teams, because the Chargers also use to play in LA, doesn't mean anything. If the money is there and it helps the leauge then put a team in Los Angeles. Its the second biggest media market to NY. There money to be made with the right team and the right owners establish there.

[Cyclopsis Joe]

Yeah, but I think the owners would be wary, If LA gets the Saints (or some other team), how do we know that LA won't just get sick of them (or whatever the reasons for the last three departures were) and they'll just end up in Oklahoma City or something? I really don't care if it's the "Second biggest TV market". You shouldn't have let the last three (I honestly didn't know the Chargers used to be LA) go in the first place.

It's that simple.

[rebelx]

THIS WAS A BAD POST; PLEASE IGNORE AND READ THE NEXT ONE.

[rebelx]

You can't simply say "L.A. doesn't deserve a team"; you have to take into consideration the history of L.A.'s previous franchises.

The Chargers were here for a single year (1960), so they barely even count. I think a large part of the reason why they couldn't make it in their one year here was because they played in the AFL, a much less well-endowed league than the NFL, and L.A. already had the well-loved Rams at the time, so the Chargers simply couldn't compete financially. They also played in the same stadium as the Rams (the L.A. Coliseum), which further complicated matters, and separated their situation from that of the Jets, who played in the same city as the Giants, but used separate facilities during their time in the AFL (and for quite a while after the merger, as well).

I'm still not quite sure exactly what doomed the Rams. Perhaps it was a combination of an early-'90's recession in Orange County, where they played at the time, and mismanagement/mismarketing following their loss to the Niners in the '89-'90 NFC Championship Game (some might even suggest that owner Georgia Frontiere, seeing the L.A. fans demoralized over the loss, seized upon an opportunity to shed the fanbase so that the club would be allowed to move to her hometown of St. Louis). Whatever the case, the Rams had been here for over 30 years, so L.A. certainly did support them for quite a while.

As far as I know, the main reason the Raiders left was because Al Davis was unsatisfied with the condition of the Coliseum and its lack of luxury suites and such. I was always under the impression that they had more-than-adequate fan support in their time here, which bodes well for a future franchise.

So, it seems to me that L.A. has been, more than anything, unlucky with the NFL franchises that it has had. With some sort of stadium deal in place, whether for a new venue or a renovated one, I believe that a team (either the Raiders or Saints) would succeed here. I hope I'm not mistaken.

[leedsunited]

Frankly, the Saints can survive in New Orleans. The team can draw from the entire state, not just NO proper. And the fanbase is there.

Granted, I like their chances much better if Tom Benson isn't around...

But L.A.? I'm so sick of that argument. If you want an apathetic fanbase that likes having their pick of NFL games televised rather than actually having a local team, step right up. Are they still trotting out the Coliseum as a viable NFL option? Laughable.

[BlueSky]

Agree with you ref L.A. - the fans there don't care and the NFL only does because they see dollar signs.

This thread hit one of my hot buttons. This franchise has not been "treading water." It REALLY annoys me when people suggest the Saints have not received support in New Orleans. I attended my first Saints game in 1969 and have been a fan ever since. If you think they don't get support in New Orleans, YOU' RE WRONG.

Generations of New Orleanians have supported a miserable, incompetent franchise since it came into the NFL in 1967. When I attended my first game in 1969, Tulane Stadium was packed to capacity (81,000) as always to see one of the worst teams to ever masquerade as NFL caliber.

Here's a little history lesson for you non-Saints fans:

Five trips to the playoffs and exactly one that lasted past the first round, and even then the Saints turned a 31-7 fourth quarter lead into a 31-28 nailbiter that took the Rams' Az Hakim to fumble a punt with less than 2 minutes left to preserve the win.

They've also:

Blown a 35-7 lead to lose 42-35 to the Raiders on Monday Night Football.

Lost - at home - to the 0 and 26 Bucs (and 33-14 at that) to give Tampa Bay its first NFL victory.

Lost 21-20 to Dallas when Ken Stabler - nursing a 20-19 Saints lead - was sacked for a safety while trying to pass from his own end zone with a minute left.

Lost to the Rams on the last play of the 1983 season to blow their first winning season and lose what would have been their first trip to the playoffs.

After finally making the playoffs for the first time in 1987 - partially with replacement players as that was the strike season - they were humiliated 44-10 at home by Minnesota.

Traded their entire draft for Ricky Williams, and then having him embarass the city and franchise by posing for a magazine picture dressed in a WEDDING GOWN.

Played an injured Aaron Brooks while Jake Delhomme rode the bench at the end of 2002, thus managing to miss the playoffs by losing their last 3 to the Vikings, Bengals, and Panthers.

Released or traded players that could form an All-Pro-Bowl team (for example, Delhomme, Marc Bulger, LaRoi Glover and Willie Roaf).

Completed an amazing 75-yard pass/lateral play for a touchdown on the last play of a game vs. the Jags to pull within a point of forcing overtime and then losing by MISSING THE EXTRA POINT. (Go the neworleanssaints.com multi-media section and watch the "River City Relay" - it truly was one of the all-time plays in NFL history.)

The shades of gold in their frickin' uniforms don't even match.

The New Orleans Saints have received, and continue to receive, more support than they deserve, and they will make it in New Orleans.

(End rant.)