Stan Kroenke’s first name might as well have an “a” before the “t” as far as St. Louisans are concerned. Hearing the name alone can incite a fury and disgust within millions of Midwesterners that is probably worthy only of the devil himself. Thousands of miles away, however, Kroenke’s name stands for redemption, a SoCal savior whose almighty mustache should be getting a star on Hollywood Boulevard any moment now.
Twenty-one years ago the tables were oh-so-turned, when the late Georgia Frontiere led the Rams’ eastward charge out of Los Angeles. Frontiere is revered in St. Louis to this day, while L.A. fans … well, let’s just say they still don’t like her too much.
Such is the state of NFL relocation: a made-for-Twitter drama featuring heartbreak, betrayal and – for a lucky few – jubilation. The lead characters? Power-hungry billionaires. The collateral damage? Fans, millions of them.
The initial verdicts for Relocation 2016: L.A. Edition came down Tuesday afternoon and, yes, it was a bloodbath.
Ultimately, Stan Kroenke won, and I must say that it was the worst loss that I’ve endured in my decade as a St. Louis Rams fan.
Believe me, though, there have been a lot of losses. I was a 7-year-old second grader the last time the Rams had a winning season. I stood just over 4 feet tall, spoke in gap-toothed lisps and enjoyed going to the zoo when my busy elementary school schedule allowed. A dozen years have passed, MySpace was launched and saw its demise, six Olympic Games have brought their wrath upon cities worldwide and the Rams lost 127 games along the way. I still like to visit the zoo, but you get the point. It’s been a lot of losing.
Through those often dismal seasons, nothing truly prepared me for Tuesday’s announcement that the Rams were headed back to Los Angeles. My childhood team was whisked away in a stunningly lopsided 30-2 vote and my hometown lost the NFL franchise that it supported for over 20 years.
Now, as I’ve said, neither relocation nor spurned fans are anything new in the NFL, but the manner in which the process unfolded over the past decade leaves the St. Louisan within me searching for answers as to what just happened. I have no hard feelings toward L.A. fans who have every right to be excited about their new NFL team – or two – but I would argue that the losing city in this year’s NFL Hunger Games shouldn’t have lost.
Someone had to take the hit, but not St. Louis. The whole process was an uncomfortable saga of lies, broken promises and deceit that dragged on far too long. Yet, when the Midwestern city rallied to form a proposal while Oakland and San Diego sat idly by, the money did the talking and the Rams packed the moving trucks.
It all goes back to Kroenke.
When he became the majority owner in 2010, he gave then-St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz a seemingly heartfelt statement of loyalty to the city.
“It’s not our desire to ever lead the charge out of St. Louis,” Kroenke said. “So if that’s sort of the implication, that’s not why we’re here. We’re here to work hard and be very successful in St. Louis.
“I’ve been a Missourian for 60 years. People in our state know me. People know I can be trusted. People know I am an honorable guy. I’m going to attempt to do everything that I can to keep the Rams in St. Louis, just as I did everything that I could to bring the team to St. Louis in 1995. I believe my actions speak for themselves.”
Then, silence – for half a decade – until Kroenke bought his plot of Inglewood land and finally spoke to the media. Now, he argues that he did do everything he could, and it was actually the city’s fault. But when the St. Louis stadium task force tried to finance a brand new $1 billion stadium for him, Mr. Loyalty refused to attend a meeting or even accept a phone call from organizers.
It’s clear what the intention was all along, and it’s disheartening now to read every broken promise of an owner who couldn’t care less about the local fans of his team.
And, while St. Louis did have its struggles with the Edward Jones Dome, the city rallied to save itself when the NFL demanded it. The STL stadium task force and Missouri governor Jay Nixon created a stadium plan and raised more than $500 million of public money, including the league’s projections of revenue from personal seat license. And the NFL said no.
What a precedent.
Now, the proposal wasn’t perfect – the task force had to ask for an extra $100 million to the stadium funding – raising the normal league contribution from $200 million to $300 million, but it was the best proposal officials could put together.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wasn’t happy whatsoever, calling it “fundamentally inconsistent with the NFL’s program of stadium financing.”
But now we can see how it all played out: the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders will either move to Los Angeles with the Rams or will receive payouts toward new stadiums. That extra money? $100 million.
Nothing was going to change Goodell’s mind. Not even a competing Carson plan that fought Kroenke’s Inglewood dreams. Not Chargers owner Dean Spanos’ personal opposition to dealing with Kroenke. Not a St. Louis stadium plan that was nearly 40 percent publicly funded. None of that mattered because the fix was already in.
Other stadium proposals in San Diego and Oakland paled in comparison. The Chargers told the league they hoped to have a solid plan by next summer – only six months, or so, after the December 2015 deadline. The Raiders’ leadership have done, well, nothing really in regards to their stadium situation.
“How could the one market that tried to satisfy the NFL’s demands get blown away in favor of two markets that did nothing to remedy their severe stadium problems?” Miklasz wondered.
In the end, someone was going to lose because that’s exactly how it works in this game, but that doesn’t make it feel any better.
I am truly happy for Los Angeles Rams fans who, after heartbreak two decades ago, finally get their team back. I hope you treat them well, and I will join you as a continued fan of my childhood football team.
But that doesn’t mean this is the conclusion I wanted.
Kroenke ignored every St. Louis effort to save its team – he was headed to Southern California come hell or El Niño – and the billionaires in that Houston hotel room this week followed the money.
I wish the Rams the best. I wish Kroenke the worst. I guess that’s just how this is supposed to end.
Email Walters at [email protected] or tweet him at @tannerbwalters.
