Los Angeles Doesn’t Need an NFL Team, It Has USC and UCLA Football!
With both USC and UCLA Football prepare for the 2015 season, the city of Los Angeles need not worry about bringing an NFL team as it already has two of the best football teams in the nation (in college football that is).
Are they building a stadium in Carson or Inglewood? Is it it going to house the Rams, Raiders or Chargers? Maybe two teams? Maybe all three? Will it happen next year or in ten years?
RELATED: Why The Alamo Bowl Victory Is Important To UCLA Football
There are just way too many questions people. The only thing certain about an NFL team coming to LA is that nothing is certain at all. Yet in all of this hoopla, there is one thing NFL fans in Los Angeles have neglected to realize… there are already two very impressive teams right under their noses.
UCLA Bruins
The USC and UCLA Football teams.
Look, I know they are not on Sunday Ticket or do not have all the drama of the NFL or do not have millionaire prima donnas talking smacking on a play-by-play basis, but the Bruins and Trojans do have some top notch programs, especially compared to the teams that are vying to relocate to somewhere in Los Angeles County.
Last year, the final records of those teams, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers and St. Louis Rams, were 3-13, 6-10 and 9-7, respectively. Looking ahead to this coming season, only the Chargers look to make some noise.
With UCLA and USC, you have two Top 15 teams (among 125) that have a lot of experience, a lot of depth and a lot of talent. Aside from their Division and Conference, the Bruins and Trojans also have national title aspirations which are very realistic. You do not get that sense from these three NFL teams.
Aug 6, 2015; Canton, OH, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (center) speaks at the Enshrinees Gold Jacket Dinner flanked by Rich Eisen (left) and Pro Football Hall of Fame president David Baker at Canton Civic Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Another thing about the NFL “coming back to LA” is that it just does not feel right (unless you are part of the fan base of one of these three teams). It does not bring a lot of excitement and in the case of the Chargers, even Los Angeles-based Bolts fans do not want to see them in LA. San Diego is their home and it feels a bit weird to pluck a team from their home just to move not too far up the coast.
It is like a dirty divorce.
With USC and UCLA Football, you have two teams in two iconic settings with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl. With both programs producing some great teams in the last few years, the coming season will provide nothing but hard-hitting football which culminates at the end with an epic battle in the Crosstown Showdown.
Nov 30, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins coach Jim Mora celebrates at the end of the game against the Southern California Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
This year, UCLA Football travels east to play USC in the Coliseum in a game that could determine the winner of the South Division and a trip to the Pac-12 Championship Game. Now it does not get any more exciting than that in LA now does it?
So think about it Los Angeles-based NFL fans, do you really want to wait a year or five for a team to come back just to be in re-building mode every year, or would you rather embrace one of two teams that has great tradition, spectacular talent and a shot at winning championships annually?
The choice is clear. College football rules in LA and both the USC and UCLA Football teams have two of the best around. Basically, it is time to switch to college football, Los Angeles… if you have not already.
Next: Two Bruins Make The FWAA All-Time All-American Lists