Feeling sympathy for fans of relocating teams
Cleveland Browns fans who see the news of NFL teams switching cites know all too well how painful a situation it can be for the fans of the teams on the move.
Apparently, losing to the Cleveland Browns has its downfalls.
The San Diego Chargers became the latest team to switch cities, after announcing a move to Los Angeles last week. Chargers fans in San Diego are surely devastated, the politics of the move aside.
An NFL team switching often happens for multiple reasons, with stadium financing often being the issue. But when just focusing on the football aspect, it just sucks. There is no more elegant way to put it.
Browns fans can easily sympathize with fans in San Diego, St. Louis, and potentially Oakland, as the scars of the team moving to Baltimore still hang over the city.
Fans in Cleveland love the Browns, as dysfunctional as they have been since returning, but it is hard not to wonder what could have been had the team never moved. The same may be true for fans of the Chargers if the team finds success in Los Angeles.
Just like Cleveland, it is possible San Diego may get another football team one day. But with the Chargers name now moving to Los Angeles after 56 years, a new franchise may never be the same for lifelong fans of the Chargers.
Browns fans were lucky enough that Baltimore named the new team after a grimy bird, allowing Cleveland to retain the historic namesake of the Browns. Unfortunately, the Chargers name is headed to a city that does not care too much about football.
Browns fans under the age of 25 may never think about the team moving, but the loss still lingers on for older fans who remember the glory days. A team leaving town is never forgotten by those who witnessed it, which is why it is so heartbreaking to see it happen in other cities.
Professional football is ultimately a business, but it becomes increasingly frustrating when rich owners cannot find a way to keep a team in its home city. Public funding is always sought, but it is foolish to expect any city to willingly hand over hundreds of millions of dollars to a businessman who could easily fund the stadium with his own money.
Next: 2016 in review: The first quarter
Professional sports teams will continue to move for as long as the leagues exist, but that doesn’t mean the reality of the situation gets any easier to handle.