NFL's back again.

Some will probably still go as Las Vegas is fairly close to Oakland i think? I do feel sorry for Oakland fans as they had a team then lost them to LA then they came back and have gone again!

Imagine the uproar if that happened with football teams here?

Norpig wrote:Some will probably still go as Las Vegas is fairly close to Oakland i think? I do feel sorry for Oakland fans as they had a team then lost them to LA then they came back and have gone again!

Imagine the uproar if that happened with football teams here?

It's not that close - probably a days drive away over a huge mountain range and across a dessert!

Really, I've driven it myself, although I stopped in Yosemite and Death Valley along the way a popped into the Grand Canyon just before getting to Vegas. I'd recommend the trip to anyone if they ever get the opportunity to do so.

And we have had a team relocate over here - MK Dons were previously Wimbledon but the only moved around a couple of hours away.

Ok so its farther than i thought, 8 hours drive! 

Norpig wrote:Some will probably still go as Las Vegas is fairly close to Oakland i think? I do feel sorry for Oakland fans as they had a team then lost them to LA then they came back and have gone again!

Imagine the uproar if that happened with football teams here?

It did happen when Wimbledon became MK Dons in 2003. The current AFC Wimbledon was founded by fans when Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes.

Its not quite the same level as an NFL team though is it? I know Wimbledon fans were upset but the NFL is the biggest sport in the States. 

The equivalent over here would be one for the top 8 Premiership teams deciding to move to another City.

Norpig wrote:Ok so its farther than i thought, 8 hours drive! 

That's considered as just popping next door in American terms - the place is absolutely enormous.

I'm sure Oakland fans will make the journey, who wouldn't want to have a weekend in Vegas!

I've actually been to the Oakland ground once but it was to see the baseball team as they both played there - baseball in summer and football over winter!

It always looked a bit odd to me watching the Raiders as the baseball diamond was there as well. its on my bucket list to go to America and go to an NFL game, hopefully the Steelers 

Norpig wrote:It always looked at bit odd to me watching the Raiders as the baseball diamond was there as well. its on my bucket list to go to America and go to an NFL game, hopefully the Steelers 

You must if you ever get the chance,

Maybe the way to do it is to go to Florida (obviously when this virus is beaten), the wife and kids will love Disney (even I did!) and if you time it right and book tickets in advance and the fixtures fall in place for you (I don't know who is in which league?), then you could get to see the Steelers play at one of the Florida teams (Tampa Bay being an easy drive away from Disney - Miami and Jacksonville being a days drive away).

One little tip if you do - remember the 'home' team in America is shown last (and not 'first' as is the normal way we do it).

A lot of fans won't be able to make the journey regularly and I imagine even more will feel betrayed and won't be able to to bring themselves to support a Las Vegas based and branded team.
Paralleling our switching allegiances thread - who could they support locally? One of their local rivals? Doubt it personally.

wanderlust wrote:A lot of fans won't be able to make the journey regularly and I imagine even more will feel betrayed and won't be able to to bring themselves to support a Las Vegas based and branded team.
Paralleling our switching allegiances thread - who could they support locally? One of their local rivals? Doubt it personally.

American sport is bonkers anyway.

Sluffy wrote:

That's considered as just popping next door in American terms - the place is absolutely enormous.

I'm sure Oakland fans will make the journey, who wouldn't want to have a weekend in Vegas!

I've actually been to the Oakland ground once but it was to see the baseball team as they both played there - baseball in summer and football over winter!

I agree with you about the distances Americans think nothing of driving but not about Vegas. To me Vegas is completely awful with nothing to recommend it. So many places in America are worth visiting and I have stayed in Vegas several times purely because of its convenient location but each to their own.

wanderlust wrote:A lot of fans won't be able to make the journey regularly and I imagine even more will feel betrayed and won't be able to to bring themselves to support a Las Vegas based and branded team.
Paralleling our switching allegiances thread - who could they support locally? One of their local rivals? Doubt it personally.

Are you for real???

Sport doesn't work like that in America, the distance is too vast to follow teams that way - fans across America followed sport on the radio initially, then TV and now on the internet.

There's numerous examples of franchise moving and most American's have never lived or have any tribal association with the teams they follow - you can have various members of the same family supporting different NFL teams.

If anything they consider their local college football team to be their 'tribal' team if you will and the NFL team they've chosen to support in just the same way as fans over here have picked who they want to be the team they follow based on whatever criteria they like.

I would imagine most Raiders fans supported the team when they moved to LA for a number of years and will continue to do so now they've moved to LV.

xmiles wrote:

Sluffy wrote:

That's considered as just popping next door in American terms - the place is absolutely enormous.

I'm sure Oakland fans will make the journey, who wouldn't want to have a weekend in Vegas!

I've actually been to the Oakland ground once but it was to see the baseball team as they both played there - baseball in summer and football over winter!

I agree with you about the distances Americans think nothing of driving but not about Vegas. To me Vegas is completely awful with nothing to recommend it. So many places in America are worth visiting and I have stayed in Vegas several times purely because of its convenient location but each to their own.

I've had great times when I've been to Vegas and I don't even gamble!

I liked the theatre and the spectacle of the place and saw some great shows when we were there.

Everybody needs to go to Vegas at least once in their lifetime, there's simply no other place like it - and make your mind up afterwards whether you loved it or not.

Most obviously love it because it's still there and growing - they've now got a NFL football team for instance!

Vegas is definitely unique.

It is the most artificial place I have ever been. The first time I visited it was in 1978 and the food in the casinos was cheap and plentiful but even that has changed now. The food is now expensive and frankly not that good. I haven't seen a show in Vegas because I am not interested but I guess it would be pretty spectacular. Far more spectacular is some of the scenery not too far away though - Grand Canyon, Death Valley, etc.

Sluffy wrote:

Are you for real???

Sport doesn't work like that in America, the distance is too vast to follow teams that way - fans across America followed sport on the radio initially, then TV and now on the internet.

There's numerous examples of franchise moving and most American's have never lived or have any tribal association with the teams they follow - you can have various members of the same family supporting different NFL teams.

If anything they consider their local college football team to be their 'tribal' team if you will and the NFL team they've chosen to support in just the same way as fans over here have picked who they want to be the team they follow based on whatever criteria they like.

I would imagine most Raiders fans supported the team when they moved to LA for a number of years and will continue to do so now they've moved to LV.

According to a survey conducted by the Raiders, they anticipate 10% of their Vegas season ticket holders to be from the Bay Area. Here. Also some interesting reading about fan's reaction in the Mercury News although they aren't anticipating the widespread shirt burning experienced elsewhere.

wanderlust wrote:

Sluffy wrote:

Are you for real???

Sport doesn't work like that in America, the distance is too vast to follow teams that way - fans across America followed sport on the radio initially, then TV and now on the internet.

There's numerous examples of franchise moving and most American's have never lived or have any tribal association with the teams they follow - you can have various members of the same family supporting different NFL teams.

If anything they consider their local college football team to be their 'tribal' team if you will and the NFL team they've chosen to support in just the same way as fans over here have picked who they want to be the team they follow based on whatever criteria they like.

I would imagine most Raiders fans supported the team when they moved to LA for a number of years and will continue to do so now they've moved to LV.

According to a survey conducted by the Raiders, they anticipate 10% of their Vegas season ticket holders to be from the Bay Area. Here. Also some interesting reading about fan's reaction in the Mercury News although they aren't anticipating the widespread shirt burning experienced elsewhere.

So 90% who won't be then!

I guess that means they'll follow them still on TV/internet like the rest of their fans across America and abroad.

Just like I'd said really!

Fancy that.

Some of the raiders fans may choose to switch to the 49ers as San Francisco is fairly easy to reach from LA. However it has been mooted that the NFL is considering a further 'expansion' and that up to six new franchises will be awarded in 2022 for the 2023/4 season. It's also been suggested that if this does happen the conferences will be revamped and the number of 'divisions' within each conference would be increased which would lead to fewer 'wild card' entries to the play offs. Whether or not the NFL would actually vote in favour of this remains to be seen especially in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

Sluffy wrote:

So 90% who won't be then!

I guess that means they'll follow them still on TV/internet like the rest of their fans across America and abroad.

Just like I'd said really!

Fancy that.

I do know what your problem is but I said that many wouldn't travel, then you agreed they wouldn't travel then I posted a survey to back my point and you started rabbiting on as if I'd said the opposite of what I said.

You're actually arguing with yourself again

wanderlust wrote:

Sluffy wrote:

So 90% who won't be then!

I guess that means they'll follow them still on TV/internet like the rest of their fans across America and abroad.

Just like I'd said really!

Fancy that.

I do know what your problem is but I said that many wouldn't travel, then you agreed they wouldn't travel then I posted a survey to back my point and you started rabbiting on as if I'd said the opposite of what I said.

You're actually arguing with yourself again

You started off by saying -

wanderlust wrote:A lot of fans won't be able to make the journey regularly and I imagine even more will feel betrayed and won't be able to to bring themselves to support a Las Vegas based and branded team.

I simply said American's don't behave that way - very few follow their teams (NFL, NHL, MLB, NBL, etc) away from home normally because of the vast distances and costs, so are hardly likely to follow Oakland to Vegas every week or stop following them altogether because they feel betrayed but instead continue their support of them just like the rest of their fans across their country do - by TV/cable/internet.

Instead of accepting I knew what I was talking about you dug up some stats to bolster your original statement, which instead proved the point I was telling you.

I don't understand why you always try to defend to the death that you haven't made a mistake, learned something you didn't know, or whatever it is that you do but when all said and done it is only the internet and we all make mistakes/get things wrong from time to time.

I don't even follow American Football ffs, I was only trying to help enlighten you of how sports fans over there react differently than they do over here.

The fans who supported Raiders in the Oakland area won't feel 'betrayed', will still continue to support them even though they are in  Vegas now and are obviously extremely unlikely to travel to see their games (some 8 hour drive away, then another 8 hours more returning) as they used to when the team was based on their doorstep!

It's as simple as that.

And certainly IS'NT what you originally were saying.

Can you two reign it in a bit please? This constant point scoring against each other is getting worse again just when we seem to be getting a few of the old posters back.