Sports

Should the Oakland Raiders Move to Los Angeles?

SPORTS -- By Danny Vietti

For the past few years, it has been well documented that the Oakland Raiders football franchise could potentially be moving to another city. Of course, the latest reports are saying it is inevitable that at least one franchise will be moving to Southern California, where the plans are all laid out for a brand new stadium in Carson, California (just 17 miles outside of Los Angeles).

Whether it is inevitable or not, the real question is: after over 20 years of service, should the Raiders move their franchise away from Oakland?

All of these other journalists and reporters are spreading rumors and giving their insight why it would be wise and why it wouldn’t be wise for the Raiders to pack their bags. The problem with mass media reports is that they all have some sort of sponsorship, network, audience, and personal influence on their news.

Before I begin my rant:
1.) I am not affiliated with any network or company

2.) I have been a Raiders fan all my life and personally do not want them to move

3.) due to my residency in Northern California, I am surrounded with more optimistic Raiders news

4.) After the Deflategate and recent domestic violence issues, I do not trust the National Football League or Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Personally, I think the Raiders franchise should move to Los Angeles, and let me tell you why.

The Raiders have tremendous support from around the Bay Area, but it’s not enough. The fans are some of the most passionate and energized in the entire National Football League. It is depressing, seeing signs of “Stay in Oakland” fill the stands at O.Co Coliseum each and every game. The fans care and it shows. 

From a political standpoint, the city of Oakland wants their team to stay because it is a huge economical boost. Here is the latest of what Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has to say (via Rachel Swan of the San Francisco Chronicle):

“We are presenting Oakland as an attractive place for the NFL, and we are going to make sure that they know that Oakland is resurgent,” Schaaf told The Chronicle. “And we’re going to make sure the Raiders and the NFL owners know that we want to place the Raiders at the center of a serious effort to get something done.”

With all of this support, one would think they have just as much football support as anybody, but, in fact, they don’t. In a study by Jonathan Kiefer of ESPN, of the 162 areas surveyed in the Bay Area, just eight of them prefer the Raiders over their cross-town rival San Francisco 49ers. Why do I bring this up? Although the Raiders fans are loyal and passionate, the 49ers are too dominating and historical to ever compete with them from an economic standpoint. No matter what they do, the 49ers will always sell the most fan gear and the most tickets.

If Oakland were to move to Los Angeles, they would be the lone professional sports team in Los Angeles Country which has a population of 10.2 million people (pending the Chargers or Rams also moving). This is the second-largest market in the U.S. behind only New York City. Los Angeles would be overjoyed, and the entire area would be flooded with Silver and Black.

Look, I understand my audience here is a majority of both 49ers and Raiders fans. This article may upset some of you. Heck, it upsets me reading it my own words. However, I am a Raiders fan too, and the logic and economics makes too much sense for the Oakland Raiders would flourish with a move to Southern California. 

It will be hard to swallow, but Raiders fans may need to prepare themselves for the announcement of the move sooner, rather than later. I do not want the Raiders to move, but I do believe they should.

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*If you have any disagreements, counter-arguments, etc., feel free to comment below or message me on Twitter @dannyvietti17. I guarantee to message or comment back. Join the debate.

*Links to some of the latest news on if the Raiders will move to Los Angeles:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2015/10/29/raiders-owner-mark-davis-attends-oakland-town-hall-meeting/74850852/

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23stayinoakland&src=typd

http://fox2now.com/2015/12/08/fox-2-looks-at-final-riverfront-stadium-deal/

Don't Underestimate Mark Davis, or the Oakland Raiders

Written by: Tim Keown/ ESPN
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13735322/are-mark-davis-raiders-leaving-oakland

Analysis: In this very entertaining biographical article, Keown goes in depth, not only on the situation of the Raiders potential move to Los Angeles, but particularly the unique like of owner Mark Davis. While the article is not very informative as far as the actual move is concerned, it is very informative on the life and how Davis thinks. It gives a scope and creates an innocent and credible image of Davis.

With so many people critical of Davis because of the 14 year playoff drought of his Raider team, this article gives a scope of why he makes the decisions he does. It talks about his daily routines, his relationship with his father, and much more. This was more of an entertainment article than informative.

--Posted by Danny Vietti

Raiders, Chargers Plan Possible Shared NFL Stadium in Los Angeles
Written by: Andrew Dalton/ Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/19/raiders-chargers-stadium-los-angeles_n_6718152.html

Analysis: This article by Andrew Dalton gives the political perspectives on the situation. By getting quotes by both the mayor of Oakland, Libby Schaaf, and representatives from the San Diego City Hall, readers get a sense of the fight that is in progress to keep the teams in their respective towns.

While it is interesting to hear from the political leaders, it would have been good to hear the outlooks and plans for each teams' owners. Another perspective that was absent was any representatives of the city of St. Louis, Missouri or the St. Louis Rams. The Rams are the third team that is potentially moving to Los Angeles, but they were, for some reason, not represented in the article.

--Posted by Danny Vietti

Three NFL to Los Angeles takeovers, after Owners' meetings
Written by: Pete Camarillo/ FanSided-Just Blog Baby
http://justblogbaby.com/2015/12/02/three-takeaways-about-the-nfl-to-los-angeles-after-owners-meetings/

Analysis: A slideshow of the takeaways from the Owners meetings were overall informative, but it was obvious to see the affirmation. FanSided and Just Blog Baby is a fan-run site, which intrigues me as a reader. More often than not, the ethics and norms are thrown out the window because these writers are very young and passionate. Passion and care leads to bias, but I respect it as a reader.

In this article, it seems to tell the readers that the Raiders are unlikely to move, when in reality, this is not true. There are a lot of tweets posted in the article, but none of the tweets were from the actual owners, NFL representatives, or political leaders.

--Posted by Danny Vietti