By Tyler Vanderelst |Staff Writer|
Without their own collegiate football team, CSUSB fans are turning to the NFL to fill their football needs.
However, with three teams relocating in such a short amount of time, it becomes difficult to root for their favorite team or, may even cause them to choose a new one.
There are currently four teams in California, and three of those teams have relocated or are planning to relocate in the near future.
The Los Angeles Rams came to Los Angeles (LA) this year after spending 20 years in St. Louis, from 1995-2015. Before they were in St. Louis they were the LA Rams from 1946-1994, so they still had a pretty big fan base when they moved back.
Majd Kakish has been a longtime Rams fan because they are his dad’s favorite team from back when he would go to games and watch them play in LA.
“It is awesome now that I get to go to a game with my dad and we can watch our favorite team play,” said Kakish.
The Los Angeles Chargers are new to LA after moving at the end of their season this year from San Diego where they had played and represented the city since 1960. This did not leave the fans of the Chargers very happy, as they were seen burning jerseys and destroying everything else they had that was about the Chargers.
Trent Terry who grew up in San Diego was not happy when he found out that the Chargers had moved from San Diego to Los Angeles.
“I was shocked. I thought there was no way the Chargers would leave San Diego to join a city that already had a football team,” said Terry.
Then there are the Oakland Raiders, who in 1982 moved to LA until 1995, when they moved back to Oakland. Now they are currently in the process of relocating to Las Vegas.
It has gotten more difficult now that one of their big investors has pulled his money out, but they are still on track to relocate.
Raiders fan Caitlin Smith is very sad that her favorite team might be leaving California. She grew up in the Bay area, so she has always enjoyed watching her favorite team play because it reminded her of home.
“As soon as I heard the news the Raiders were going to Las Vegas, I immediately went and got a 49ers hat because they are now my favorite team,” said Smith.
This has left a lot of fans in a state of sadness because they feel betrayed by their favorite team. On the other hand, other fans feel great that their favorite team has moved closer to them because they can watch them play closer to home.
The 49ers are the last team in California to stay true to their fans and not leave them, aside from the move from Candlestick Park to Levi’s Stadium.
Teams have been moving for many of years now. Some other recent changes include in the NBA in when the Seattle Supersonics moved to Oklahoma City in 2008, becoming the Thunder. In the MLB the Montreal Expos moved to the nation’s capital and became the Washington Nationals in 2005.
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