...On the day that the Raiders have a chance to clinch their first trip to the Super Bowl since 1984, this muffled yell is the best the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum can muster. Yes, it's football. But not the kind that used to shake the foundation of this massive structure from 1982-94; It's the kind that Pele made popular. And for $25.00, there are roughly 85,000 spots for anyone who wants to see Guatemala take on El Salvador in international soccer. Plenty of good seats available.... For the whole article go here: http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs02/s/2003/0119/1495472.html What do you think?
There is some satisfaction to be derived from watching the NFL suffer from obscurity in one of the largest city in the world. For every time I hear about how no one cares about soccer, I can say that no one in LA cares about football/NFL. It's not true, but when has truth ever stopped NFL fans and press from bashing the rest of the world who watch the beautiful game? It is a nice thought knowing that Galaxy play in their own stadia the only professional football in the city. I can only hope that the MLS will take advantage and build a fan base that will be loyal enough to withstand the return of the NFL.
My 2 cents I just find it upsetting that with all the sold out coliseum soccer matches, ESPN decides to report on a match that has 85,000 empty seats. They should do a report on the matches where the coliseum is sold out and there are another 10,000 people at the sports arena watching on CCTV.
Yeah, a report about how no one is paying attention to the Raiders in LA is all about soccer somehow. You people do live in the on planet Earth, where the Super Bowl is the biggest annual sporting event in particular country called The United States of America, right? Didja ever think the reason not many people in LA care about the Raiders is because the Raiders are in Oakland? If the NFL brought a team back to LA again, and built a decent stadium, the NFL would be far from an afterthought. American football does not live in obscurity in Los Angeles, no matter how much wishful thinking soccer fans want to apply.
I'm trying hard to give a rat's ass about anything in the article. Trying. Must. Try. Try. Harder. Nope. No good. I can't give a rat's ass about anything in the article.
I didn't read the article, but I lived in LA in 1984, and the Raiders weren't that huge when they won the whole thing. I don't know why, but LA isn't an NFL town. They weren't on TV because of the blackouts (they couldn't get 102,000 to a game back then) and even though people talked about them in passing, you never saw the average joe running to the nearest Raplh's (supermarket) in a Raiders jersey picking up beer. You just didn't. Even in the middle of May you will see Giant and Jet jerseys in NY/NJ. I don't know if the focus of the entertainment industry has something to do with it- and you wouldn't guess that it would since they seem to get up for the Lakers- but NFL was never big when I was there. My best friend there lived in LA his whole life and was a Redskins fan. Go figure.
what seems odd to me is his surprise that people in LA aren't excited about the Raiders. To me it's like being expected to be happy that your ex-girlfriend is having a baby with the guy she left you for.
I spent most of the day Saturday in downtown San Diego and I have never seen so many people before in the Gaslamp district (some of the estimates that I heard were that there were over 120,000 people there). The vast majority of the football fans that I saw were wearing silver and black and various Raider shirts and jerseys. For fun I decided to see if I could find any Raider fans who were actually from Oakland and I never did find one the entire day. I did meet some from communities in Northern California close to Oakland, but virtually every Raider fan I spoke to on Saturday was from the Los Angeles area. In general there may not be huge support for the Raiders in Los Angeles, but apparently a large number of supporters that the Raiders still have in Los Angeles decided to invade San Diego, at least for the day on Saturday.
NFL experience A friend of mine who is a staunch Raider fans invited me to go down to San Diego on Saturday for the NFL experience. Since he has accompanied me to many a Galaxy games I figured it was only right that I don't use the I don't like the NFL excuse. So I put on my USMNT cap and a soccer shirt and off I was. I kept myself busy by looking at all the pretty girls and trying to see if there were any other soccer fans representing, which there were.
What kind of Tri fan are you! What the Fu ck! I'm sorry about that, I just have to get over the shock. I'll be fine!