As sad as it sounds, San antonio is made up of 90% cowboys infidels. Would they switch alliance and support a new team? Why not let houston get another team and share the stadium with the Texans... =)
The whole Toronto/London/Mexico angle would be international elements that wouldnt appeal to me at ALL. Geographical elements DO count with fans. Dont like how leagues think going global is something fans really care about, they dont! Cant do anything about it though, have to adapt if it happens. Yes there's no push by Los Angeles residents clamouring for an NFL team. Though I dont think its so much the fanbase harming efforts to LA. Its about lack of serious investors, and political red tape like the environmental impact of a new stadium, etc...for LA I do think its a case of if they build it they will come. So LA's still gonna be in the running
San Antonio is an anomaly- it's a top 10 population-wise city that won't support a major league baseball or football team. Matter of fact, the level of support for other forms of entertainment has gone way, way down in San Antonio. Major concert acts, for example, are mostly booked in Dallas and Houston, due to lack of demand for tickets and prior poor ticket sales in San Antonio. I would say Austin, but it's the same thing with LA- they've got USC, and Austin's got UT, so why would they care about having an NFL franchise? But San Antonio- no way. It'll never happen.
it's more than just san antonio, it's the entire state. what do you think the demographics of cowboys fans vs texans fans in HOUSTON? its not going to be 10/90 LA is going to get a team. Everyone wants a team there.
While there is no public push for a team in LA, they will watch and go to games if someone puts a team there. You are going to find 80,000 people to go to 8 games a year in that metroplex. The vikings are getting good at the right time. There is no way they renew after 2011 in that stadium. Yes the Bills are marketing and putting games in Canada but if they are going to move the team, it's hard to imagine passing LA if there current stadium proposal goes further.
Brando, let's say Austin gets a NFL team? where would they play? Round Rock? Cedar Park? Lakeway? There's no free space here dude. They already took the old airport and converted to a neighborhood. Plus, will they get a stadium that's better than Memorial? Giant HD Jumbotron? 101,000 seat capacity with suites serving prime rib? The Texas NFL situation is fine. They have the Cowboys and the Texans are getting some new fans. Maybe a NFL team in San Antonio, but nobody wants a NFL team in Austin.
Actually, if any league were to expand "internationally", the NFL makes the most sense... LOGISTICALLY (since games are only once a week). I never understood how an NBA team would survive in London, as they'd immediately have an advantage for every home game, or teams would have loads of days off in between their games there. Also, every road trip for them would be 4-5 games AT LEAST, while they'd have several long home-stands as well. In the NFL, the travelling team could get there one day earlier than they would normally. Hell, Seattle has to travel almost just as far to play games in New York, Florida, or DC. All that being said... the NFL has "outgrown" expanding to smaller cities/media markets like San Antonio or Austin. They made a mistake by going to Jacksonville, and now that team may move. They made a mistake by allowing the Rams to go to St. Louis, now that team may move. The Bills are struggling to make money in Buffalo. Minneapolis-St. Paul (not that small) is also struggling. The only "small" market that can support a team well enough is Green Bay. If all those cities can't support a team, neither will San Antonio/Austin (in the long run). Also, the Raiders could always move back to LA... hell, wouldn't that be weird if both the Raiders AND the Rams eventually ended up back there?
They are showing the Texans now in Central Texas every week. Just like they show the Cowboys every week.
I don't think there's any chance that Toronto will get any NFL team in the foreseeable future. They haven't sold out either of the two games that have been held in Toronto, and there are rumours that they gave away about 30% of the tickets to try to make the place not look half empty. Ticket's for this year's game against the Jets are already for sale on Kijiji at below face value as well.
Cal's like 400 miles from LA. Nobody here cares about them. They're a Bay Area (S.F/Oakland) university.
Not if the team(s) suck. I definitely remember games being blacked out in the early 90's when I was a kid.
The NFL is a different beast now. The Oilers would routinely come close to getting the blackout, even when they were the most exciting offense in football, on their way to 7-1 and 9-2 starts on the season. The Texans don't have that problem... mainly because of their huge season-ticket fan base, but also because there are enough football fans in Houston that will continue to support 8 measly home games a year, even for a mediocre team. Having "lost" a team, and knowing what they were missing out on also helps. The popularity of a league, as a whole, is far more now than it was in the 90's. That being said, you still need to be in a BIG market to guarantee sellouts. A new stadium in LA will sell out without fail. Hell, even the dilapadated Coliseum will still sell out if it means that they will eventually have a new stadium. Its when you mix an old stadium with no hope for replacement, with a mediocre team, that you start having problems. Add a "small" city to that (which is what is happening in Jax, Buffalo, and Minneapolis), and you have disaster.
The team would have to go somewhere between San Antonio and Austin to try to draw fans from each city. Even then, I don't think there are enough fans.
There is a lot of undeveloped space in east Austin near 183 from Ceaser to MLK. You could still put it in RR. You are right. It wouldn't happen. The biggest problem I see is the lack of support to pay for a stadium. I think you could find a good instant fanbase since how big football is here and how many people are displanted from other cities. You could totally fit a 3rd team in stationed in San Antonio. It's like someone said though, the Cowboys would fight it.
Hippieville, Jerk State and Swamp Alley all have three teams , seems fair enough to me. I really like the notion of giving the Valley and the Basin a little something extra to cheer for. Annually rotating a pre-season game in Padre, El Paso and Corpus might be kind of fun.
