Heck Of A Game

I was pulling for Clemson but the ACC and any Clemson Tiger fan should not have any complaints about the way the team played.   Alabama wins 45-40 and the difference in the game was a kickoff return by Bama and a surprise on side kick that lead to a touchdown.  The biggest accomplishment by the on side kick was it kept the ball away from Clemson and the Crimson Tide scored to boot. 

Anybody that didn't enjoy the game surely must not be a football fan.  It had big plays and both teams had a hard time stopping the other.  I thought the stop of the game occurred when Clemson lead 24-21 and got the ball back at the 50 yard line.  The Tide held Clemson to a three and out after the punt got it on the 20 after the punt went into the end zone.  The previous two or three Bama drives had started inside their own 10.

The NFL  has given three teams permission to move if necessary to new cities.  The Rams are back in LA where they should have never left 20 some years ago.  The Chargers have been given an extra 100 million to continue to Negotiate  with the City of San Diego and if that fails within the next year talk with the Rams about being a partner in LA.  Oakland either sits and waits out it's chances in LA or look to move elsewhere in the interim. 

At this point I would not be shocked if either the Chargers or Raiders looked to St Louis or San Antonio as possible new homes if they can get the cities to build them billion dollar stadiums with very little money from each team.  There is one caveat for either to move and there is a 550 million dollar moving fee from the NFL.

We as fans look at our sports team differently than the average business in town. We are all fans of some team and if that team is in my home town then that team is mine whether I have ever been to a game or not.  If you are a Carolina Panthers fan but have never even been to a game in Charlotte or bought season tickets you are not really financially tied to that team only a fan due to TV.

We can ride all over the city of Rocky Mount and see hollow shells of businesses that no longer are in business.  When they closed or left town the only people who seriously cared one way or the other were the people who lost their jobs.  Yes the city lost tax dollars from any business that leaves but there is nobody crying because my team business x left like they do when their sports team leaves

When UNC built the Dean Dome it cost 28 million dollars. 13 years later when N C State built what is now PNC it cost  186 million to have luxury boxes be included for the extra income. So in order to get a basketball arena The Wolfpack partnered with the Carolina Hurricanes. Football stadiums with Luxury boxes  having a going rate today of between 1 billion to 2 billion depending on whether you want the score board to be the entire length of the field like in Dallas.  The cost of fan convenience to lure you to sit in a seat is costly.

 We as fans or city governments are held hostages by teams but we must include our own wants to the hostage list.  It is nice to sit in a luxury box and during the time outs run and get a roast beef sandwich or buffet and even go to the bathroom that's in my box without having to stand in line.  Cities with three major league sports have more to brag about over only having two professional team.  Long gone are the days of sitting in a bleacher with no back.  We can't blame anyone but ourselves for what sports have become.