L.A. Doesn't Need The NFL But How About The Pro Bowl?

In 1994 the city of Los Angeles had two NFL teams: the Raiders and the Rams. In 1995 it had none. For fifteen years the NFL has been talking about what to do with the second largest city in the nation. That's all its been, nothing but talk. The latest blowhard is zillionaire Ed Roski, and his proposed $800 million, 75,000-seat NFL stadium as part of a shopping and entertainment complex he'll plant near the 57 and 60 Freeways in Industry, east of downtown Los Angeles. If you've been there you know you don't want to go back there, even for an NFL game. Its just a bad idea, even worse when one realizes it depends on snatching an existing NFL team from another city.

Its not like the league left the city wanting more. When I attended a Raider game in 1994 people were smoking pot in the stands and fighting in the hallways. A woman next to me was cursing like a sailor and I mentioned to her that there were kids around and she said: "You shouldn't bring children to a Raider game." Good advice but a bad way to build up your future fan base. In Anaheim (where the "LA" Rams played) the environment was cleaner, except for the owner Georgia Frontiere doing her best to run the team into the dirt so she could move to St. Louis.

Recently I visited two cities with NFL teams: San Francisco and San Diego. On Sunday afternoons TV viewers (without Direct TV) are allowed to watch their local team in action and one other game. That's only if the home team sells out otherwise that game is BLACKED OUT! Leaving only one game on TV besides the Sunday night match up on NBC. In Los Angeles I can see three games in the daytime without a dish plus the NBC game. The big deal is CBS and FOX usually show the best games of the day. Instead of being forced to watch the 49ers play the Rams or the Chargers play the Chiefs, L.A. gets the Packers vs The Vikings or the Colts vs the Patriots. Its truly football heaven, without having to buy a dish or go to a sports bar.

Yet every few years there are rumblings about the NFL coming back. To the decrepit Memorial Coliseum or the far away Rose Bowl. Both of these historic venues are fine for college football, but not the NFL. Many will say the city doesn't need pro football when the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins can draw 150,000 combined fans on the same Saturday. I think they're right. However, I'm not totally opposed to the NFL coming back to the city of angels.

Why not play the Pro Bowl here? This misguided all star game has been in the news since the NFL decided to put it BEFORE the Super Bowl instead of afterwards. (I like that idea because the Sunday before the Super Bowl is SO BORING!) They also moved it from Hawaii where ticket sales have faltered in recent years. Its a meaningless game but would be a nice gesture from the league if they are really serious about maintaining ties to L.A. Dress up the Coliseum or Rose Bowl and see what happens.

Speaking of meaningless games, how about an annual pre-season clash between the Rams and Raiders? Just like distant relatives, it would be fun to have them visit. I just don't want them to stick around.