Friday, January 22, 2010

Jason La Canfora said it is a matter of who and when, not whether

A very interesting blurb was released on the NFL network last night. Jason La Canfora was asked how soon we would see NFL football return to Southern California. He said it was now only question of who and when, not whether. It is going to happen. Jason is just not certain which team(s) and by what dates. According to the NFL Network insider, three teams have been explicitly approached with financial offers to make the move. They are:
  1. The Buffalo Bills
  2. The Jacksonville Jaguars
  3. The St. Louis Rams
All of them are reportedly considering these offers. When the children of Georgia are about to sell, how can they be mulling over this offer? My reply is as follows: How can they not? The Rams were once valued at approximately $929 million dollars. It now appears that Georgia's kids are going to fetch a price for their stock that will actually value the team just under $800 million. We aught not to be surprised by this meager figure. This is what happens when you are:
  1. The worst team in football.
  2. Playing in the 54th largest market in the United States
  3. Selling during the worst recession since the Great Depression
Georgia's kids are not going to be pleased with this figure, to say the least. They need to do everything they can do to bolster the perceived market value of the Rams. If that means spelling out offers for better revenues in Los Angeles, then that is what you have to do. I am sure Goldman Sachs folded the Ed Rosky offer sheet right into the prospectus, and passed it straight to serious candidates.

Now let's evaluate things carefully for just a moment. J. Wayne Weaver, the 75 year old owner of the Jags, is on the record saying that he will never move his team, and he will never sell to anyone who will move the team. He says he will own the team until he dies. His estate will sell the Jags, but a condition of sale will be that the team stay put. Many do not take this seriously, but this is the most recent word of J. Wayne Weaver.

The last I checked, the Bills were close to inking a deal to split their home games between Toronto and Buffalo: Four games in Buffalo, four in Toronto. If this is true, forget a move to Los Angeles.

Once again, this leaves the Rams: The only team for sale right now, and the only candidate with a history and following in Los Angeles. Right now, my esteemed brethren in St. Louis are wisting past the grave yard with all manner of specious arguments claiming that "The Rams are unlikely to move."

This once again proves the power of craving and aversion to impact humanity's perception of events. When the Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens, I remember hearing radio call-in shows featuring Cleveland fans who were in absolute denial until days before the first preseason game. We may see something similar in St. Louis.