LA Story: Bringing the NFL Back to Los Angeles

The other, less plausible LA scheme has focused on the San Diego Chargers, who would hypothetically relocate to a new stadium in a centralized location... Anaheim, maybe, and be rechristened the 'SoCal' Chargers.  
The problem there is that the concept has always hinged on (a) a stadium contract falling through in San Diego (which it didn't) and (b) the subsequent construction of a state-of-the-art facility in the OC (don't hold your breath).  Even if all the pieces fell into place, the Chargers plan would still be shorting a great sports market, Southern California, of the chance to support two teams.

The long-shot third option is an expansion team, but of course there's the numbers issue. A new franchise would bring the NFL's total to 33 teams, ending the short era of balanced schedules and regional alignments.  If it took this long to get it right, you've got to figure the league won't want to mess with a good thing.

So where does that leave LA?

Stubborn problems demand creative thinking, and I have two possible solutions.  First is the idea of making LA a neutral host city for a different NFL game each week.  Why not feature, say, 'Sunday Night Football in LA,' with marquee non-divisional matchups that would allow every team to play once in LA over the course of the season? In 2007, games will be played in Mexico and Europe, so what's keeping Los Angeles out of the mix?  

Few cities in the world can rival LA's travel, hospitality, and tourism industries, and a once-a-year SoCal appearance would encourage fans from all over the country to make the trip with their hometown teams. With the addition of David Beckham to the MLS's Galaxy, Los Angeles has also become a major entity on the global sports radar. You can bet that broadcasting weekly from LA would help the NFL in its efforts to reach markets all around the world.

Another idea is to add eight expansion teams, either an entire division of four in each of the conferences or one additional team in each of the existing divisions. The league could start by negotiating a merger with the CFL:  Canadian fans are rabidly loyal, and Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary are all viable NFL markets.  Mexico City could easily host a franchise, as could smaller US municipalities like Albuquerque/Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and San Antonio.  Think of it like this: If Jacksonville can support a team in a saturated market like the Southeast, why couldn't an expanding Southwestern city do the same thing?  

And then of course there's LA, so long used to playing bridesmaid while cities like Houston and Cleveland were awarded expansion teams. A Los Angeles squad could be the flagship of the new franchise fleet, leading the way into what would be a genuinely untested waters for the NFL and professional football.

The talent would be stretched too thin, you say?

Let's not forget how far the league has come over the years.  From a ragged collection of five teams at the turn of the twentieth century, the NFL has become the most financially successful league in American sports history, with 32 teams in 31 cities.  No matter how you cut it, there's more than enough talent to go around, and an international expansion would only increase interest in the game among elite young athletes in the western hemisphere.

So, yes LA, you can hope.  The glory days of the Rams and Raiders are long gone, but a new era may be dawning.  Whether LA emerges as a neutral city or becomes the centerpiece of a mass expansion, the prospect of pro football coming back to Los Angeles seems as strong as it's ever been.    

I, for one, would welcome the return of the game to what is and will always be a great sports town.