For obvious reasons, it’s never a good day in Cleveland when an NFL team pulls up stakes and moves. All those horrific memories from 1995 start bearing down on us again like a freight train.
And so now it’s the Oakland Raiders who are moving – once more. They started in Oakland, moved to Los Angeles, moved back to Oakland and are now headed to Las Vegas for the 2020 season after an overwhelming 31-1 vote of approval on Monday from NFL owners at the spring owners meeting in Phoenix.
Yes, I understand the various financial components – all good — of the move. Indeed, follow the trail of money and it will lead you to the answer of just about everything in life.
But what I also understand is that a loyal fan base dating back almost 60 years – to 1960, when the Raiders debuted with the birth of the AFL – has been left hanging.
But not right away, which is the odd thing about all this.
The Raiders will, for sure, play the 2017 and ’18 seasons, and possibly also 2019, at Oakland Coliseum, the worst facility in the NFL and, in essence, the reason for the team’s move. The reason for the wait? To provide enough time for their new stadium to be built.
The Browns played the last half of the 1995 season in Cleveland after team owner Art Modell announced the move, and it was the nightmare of all nightmares – an unmitigated disaster. So now, while their new stadium is being built in Las Vegas, the Raiders will play at least four times that amount, or perhaps even six times?
Really? Are you kidding?
Only the Raiders would try something that bizarre.
What will be the fans’ reaction at Raiders home games during that time? Will they show up? Will they stay away? Will they boo? Cry? Cheer?
Or all of those things?
It will be interesting to watch it play out.
But, more than that, it will be sad, as we know all too well in Cleveland.
