Fansided

Los Angeles is giving up on getting an NFL team

By Dan Zinski

May 16, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; A Jacksonville Jaguars football helmet sits on the ground during Rookie Minicamp at Florida Blue Health and Wellness Practice Fields. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports
May 16, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; A Jacksonville Jaguars football helmet sits on the ground during Rookie Minicamp at Florida Blue Health and Wellness Practice Fields. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s been a long time since Greater Los Angeles had an NFL team to call its own, and it’s looking like the people leading the push for a new team in that market are about ready to give up the ghost.

There have been rumors for years of course about various teams moving to L.A. to fill the void left by the Raiders and Rams, including rumors about the Raiders and/or Rams moving back to L.A. There have also been reports about the Vikings, Jaguars, Bills, Chargers and other teams moving to L.A. at various times.

And all that talk and speculation has resulted in precisely zero teams in L.A. An attitude of resignation appears to have overtaken Los Angeles folks eager for a team to move in.

“I’ve finally, personally come to a conclusion,” LA City Councilman Bernard Parks said to Tim Graham of the Buffalo News (via PFT). “I have to resign myself to the fact the NFL is not coming. . . .  After you put 10 years into something with nothing in return. . . .  If this was a marriage, you’d be divorced.”

There’s a Donald Sterling joke there somewhere but I’ll avoid it.

Parks went on to lament the lack of will within the NFL to make something happen on the L.A. franchise front, a lack of will he said is caused by a desire not to upset the status quo.

“The NFL doesn’t want to risk upsetting the political structure,” Parks told Graham.  “The league is facing critical issues. They don’t want to litigate these things.

“In many ways, they’re like the old Mafia. They just want to make money and don’t want to do anything that will disrupt that.”

So in that analogy, I guess Roger Goodell is the Godfather? Who’s Fredo?

And frankly, who cares if L.A. ever gets a team? It’s definitely not worth if if it means moving a traditional franchise like the Bills or Chargers. Leave teams where they belong. If you want to move Jacksonville, that’s fine. No one cares about the Jaguars, including people in Jacksonville.

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