Page 18 - Aruba Today

A18
SPORTSTuesday 12 January 2016
NFL Relocation:
LA’s fans have unified hope, divided loyalties
GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The
NFL has never been closer
to ending its 21-year ab-
sence from the city that
staged the first Super Bowl
and supported several
teams in several leagues
through several decades
of professional football.
Those teams all once
played at the Los Angeles
Memorial Coliseum, which
could see the sport back
Rams football fans hold banners, wave signs and chant while marching around the historic Los
Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016 in Los Angeles. Boisterous Los Angeles Rams
fans gathered Saturday to herald the NFL football team’s possibly imminent return to Southern
California after a 21-year sojourn in St. Louis.
on its 93-year-old field in
August. Several hundred
Rams fans — and a few
Raiders and Chargers fans,
too — gathered outside
the venerable stadium last
weekend under slate-gray
skies that made for per-
fect football weather. They
threw a pigskin, chanted
slogans and looked for-
ward to relief from a two-
decade drought.
“We really can’t believe
it’s almost time for this to
end,” lifelong Rams fan Ray
Ochoa said. “It’s time. We
just want football.”
The NFL’s owners are ex-
pected to decide this week
whether any combination
of the Rams, Chargers and
Raiders will be allowed to
move to Los Angeles, fi-
nally filling the gaping hole the 1994 season, leaving
in the sports landscape of
the nation’s second-largest
media market.
But mere days before the
meetings in Houston could
end a two-decade dis-
cussion, nobody is certain
what course the owners will
choose.
Virtually any combinations
of those three teams and
two stadium proposals are
still possibilities. There are care about the NFL,” Troy
ardent backers for both the
Rams’ plan for a Hollywood
Park stadium and the Char-
gers’ hopes to build a Car-
son arena to share with the
Raiders.
All three teams have his-
tory and fan support in the
city, and the franchises are
eager to capitalize on the
theoretically boundless
wealth and attention to be
found under Hollywood’s
bright lights. The owners
will consider financial re-
wards and personal friend-
ships when they make their
decision among the three
contenders, but it’s unclear
whether the ability to cap-
ture the heart of those L.A.
fans will play any role.
If those owners saw the
gathering at the Coliseum,
they would know the Rams
never lost the fan base they
abandoned when the late
Georgia Frontiere moved
her team to St. Louis after
behind 49 years of stead-
fast support.
“There are many fans who
Bengals critical of Steelers
assistant coach Joey Porter
have been waiting and
loyal, and they still follow JOE KAY
the Rams in St. Louis,” said CINCINNATI (AP) -- Bengals players aren’t happy with
Randy Troy, a longtime fan Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter, who was on the
aligned with the Bring Back field in the closing minutes of Pittsburgh’s 18-16 playoff
the Los Angeles Rams sup- victory and wound up in the middle of an altercation.
porters’ group. Players and coaches from both teams were on the
“Other fans like me follow field after Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict hit An-
college football and don’t tonio Brown in the head following an incompletion,
leaving the receiver dazed on the ground.
added. “But when I have Brown suffered a concussion on the play, and Burfict
the Los Angeles Rams, I was penalized for targeting a defenseless receiver.
care again. There are so While players and coaches milled around on the
many football fans in Los field, Bengals cornerback Adam ‘’Pacman’’ Jones
Angeles. The NFL is No. 1. went after Porter and drew another penalty. The two
penalties moved the Steelers in range for their win-
ning field goal.
The conduct of Steelers assistant coaches - offensive
line coach Mike Munchak was penalized for grab-
bing the hair of safety Reggie Nelson in the first half
- still bothers the Bengals.
(AP Photo/Richard Vogel) ‘’I’ve got a ton of respect for those guys,’’ left tackle
Andrew Whitworth said of the Steelers. ‘’Joey Porter
What do you think will hap- is not one of them. He’s not one of the guys I respect
pen when the L.A. Rams very much. He’s a guy that has always run his mouth.
return here? It’s going to He’s always been disrespectful to people.’’
blow up.” Porter was in the middle of a group of players when
There’s no definite way to Jones went after him, bumping an official and draw-
tell which team has the ing the flag.
most fan support in Los After the game, Jones made a profane Instagram
Angeles, but the two that post ripping the officials for their handling of the situ-
moved after the 1994 sea- ation.
son both have strong cas- Jones said on Monday that coaches shouldn’t be on
es. Most observers think the the field. He also said Munchak should have been
Chargers are in third place ejected from the game and fined by the league.
in the race for L.A. fans’ ‘’Coaches are supposed to be held to a higher
hearts and minds even standard when it comes to stuff like that,’’ Jones
though they’re technically said. ‘’Even with Mike Munchak grabbing Reggie’s
the only team born here: hair. Thank God that wasn’t me. I wouldn’t have just
Barron Hilton’s AFL team walked away.’’
played its inaugural season The teams have a history of animosity that boiled out
at the Coliseum before re- during the Steelers’ 33-20 win at Paul Brown Stadium
locating to San Diego. on Dec. 13.
The Rams rather hilariously There was an altercation at midfield during pregame
cited a Twitter poll con- warm-ups and numerous personal fouls during the
ducted by an ESPN.com game. Whitworth said Porter was among those on the
writer as proof of their pre- field pregame talking trash.
dominance while arguing Whitworth said Porter was known for trash talking
for relocation, but their col- when he was a player.
ors still show up regularly at ‘’To me, Joey Porter just doesn’t have a lot of class,’’
local sporting events.q Whitworth said. ‘’As a coach, there’s a different stan-
dard.’’
Lewis declined to address Porter being on the field,
but said he’s strict about making sure his assistants
keep to the sideline.
‘’I’m clear with our coaches all the time: We’ve got
to stay back,’’ Lewis said on Monday. ‘’I know ev-
erything’s been written about what happened with
coach Munchak and Reggie and Joey but again, all
of that out of the way, let’s win a football game and
let’s do it the way we’re coached to do it.’’
After the ugly game on Dec. 13, Lewis emphasized
to his players that they’ve got to keep their cool. In
the week leading up to the playoff loss, Lewis had a
quote from franchise founder Paul Brown displayed
on the monitors in the locker room: ‘’The key to win-
ning is poise under stress.’’
That quote was still displayed on Monday, a reminder
of why they let another playoff game get away.q