Is LA Capable or Ready to Become Sports Mecca?

Los Angeles has always been a place that everyone wants to visit if not live.  Who wouldn't?  LA has great beaches, great weather and so many choices of entertainment that there wouldn't never be a person who could say LA is a boring place.  Even the police chases are exciting in LA. But is LA a sports haven?  Not like it used to be.  If you call Los Angeles home as a professional sports team, there is one rule: WIN!!   Clippers and Kings, you are on the clock!


In the 1980s, LA was the place to be.  The Raiders were contenders and the Rams weren't bad either.  The Lakers were the team of the decade winning 5 NBA championships.  The Dodgers were contenders and won 2 World Series titles.  Even the Angels had playoff teams.  If there was a down side, it would be the Clippers and the Kings (NHL) but the success of the other 5 professional sports teams were holding up their end so well, it didn't bother anyone that the Kings and Clippers just couldn't compete.


The 1990s brought about a championship drought in Los Angeles.  The Lakers lost in the 1991 NBA Finals and both the Raiders and Rams left in 1994.  There were no superstars left especially after Magic was forced to retire due to his HIV infection.   The Kings enjoyed a few good seasons, especially after acquiring Wayne Gretzky (the Michael Jordan of hockey).  The Kings won the franchises only Western Conference Title in 1993 but lost in the Stanley Cup  Finals to Montreal.   1993 also saw the LA area gain another team.  The Anaheim Ducks became the new NHL franchise.  The Angels tried to carry the load but buckled under the pressure.  The Angels blew a 13 game lead in August 1995 and lost the one game playoff to the Seattle Mariners.  If it could go wrong for LA teams, then it did.  But some hope was given when the Lakers signed Shaquille Oneal and draft day traded for Kobe Bryant.  Over the next 4 years, the Lakers would build itself into a championship team led by Shaq and Kobe.  Adding Phil Jackson as coach wasn't a bad idea either.  1997, the Women's National Basketball Association began and LA was awarded the Sparks.  The Sparks became post season mainstays from the 1999 season going forward.


Since 2000, the Lakers have won 5 more championships.  The Sparks won twice and were Western Conference champions for 3 straight years.  The Angels won its first in franchise history in 2002 and continued to be a playoff franchise throughout the decade.  I know, the Angels play in Anaheim but let's face it, its still the LA market.  Sports in Los Angeles was looking good in the early 2000s and the decade looked promising.  The Ducks got in on the championships with its first in 2007.  Once again, Los Angeles was a city of champions. The Dodgers started to put together teams that would once again be contenders including back to back appearances in the NLCS in 2008-09.  2009 also teased baseball fans when both the Angels and Dodgers won their respective divisions and made it as far as the Championship Series in both leagues.  They both lost but it was a great ride.  Los Angeles Galaxy of the Major League Soccer, won the MLS title 3 times (2002,2005, and 2011).


At the end of 2011, the LA sports world was rocked.  The Angels signed 3-time MLB MVP Albert Pujols and the Clippers acquired Chris Paul in a trade from the New Orleans Hornets.  For the Angels, a big bat was added for the next 10 years for $254 million.  The Angels also signed pitcher CJ Wilson and added yet another ace to a pitching staff that consists of Jared Weaver, Dan Haren, and Ervin Santana.  The Clippers, already with future superstar Blake Griffen and Deandre Jordan, brought in CP3 and veteran PG/SG Chauncey Billups.  The Clippers look to take their piece of LA by putting together a team that can now compete for championships.  The excitement is back in LA.  The Lakers are still there and the Dodgers are nearing the end of bad ownership and will return a division contending team in 2012.  I won't go as far as to say that LA teams will sweep the championships in sports but it will be fun to watch.  LA sports fans have not had this much excitement for a long time.  It feels great.  Even in this economy, expect sports bars all around LA to enjoy a great year.


By no we all know that a football stadium in being planned to be built in Los Angeles, right next to Staples Center.  What makes this so interesting is LA has no NFL team.  Many teams have been rumored to be moving here but that short list has gotten even shorter.  The real question is who does LA want here?  Not easy to answer because any team that comes to Los Angeles must understand that you have to win.  Any team that is winning doesn't have aspirations to leave the city they are in now.  That short list consists of the Raiders, Chargers and Jags.  The Jags just got a new owner who swears he isn't interested in coming to LA.  The Chargers say that they want the team to remain in San Diego, so that leaves the Raiders.  It was reported yesterday by the Associated Press that new Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie stated he is committed to getting a new stadium and will listen to the AEG group that owns the Staples Center and the proposed Farmers Field.  


So now the question is, does LA sports fans want the Raiders back?  There is no simple or easy answer.  I'm a Raiders fan and I don't know.  I do know that there are many Raider Nation members in Los Angeles.  Over the years, I have been to many sports bars and have seen the LA chapter of Raider Nation out in force, including during the 4-12 and 5-11 seasons.  The marketability is already there dispite LA technically being a secondary market for the Chargers.  There are many that feel the Raiders can't be loved in LA again.  I feel that with such a NFL drought in LA, fans would forget and forgive the last 18 years for a chance to get behind a contender.  Of the possible teams that could come to LA, the Raiders show the most promise to be a winner.  I'm including the many problems that the Raiders have being the least disciplined and most penalized team in the NFL, for starters.  Don't forget that the Raiders gave LA the only NFL title in 1983.  So there is a championship connection already.  The Raiders made the playoffs 9 times in 13 seasons in Los Angeles.


No matter what happens in the coming months and years with regard to the NFL, Los Angeles sports is poised to make a run at greatness in 2012.  Just think, the Lakers and Clippers could wind up in the Western Conference Finals and the same with the Kings and Ducks.  The Angels and Dodgers could finally meet in the World Series.  They are the only inter-market teams to never do so.  So many possibilities, so much fun to watch.


D!