I'm going to say the unthinkable: The 49ers should abandon the politically incorrect Bay Area for Los Angeles.
There, I said it. I've said it before and been blasted, but L.A. needs a team and the Niners need a stadium. With all the kooky wine-sipping South Bay fans coming out against the Niners' stadium dreams, why not Los Angeles?
(I borrowed the wine-sipping quote from former 49er Hall of Fame center Randy Cross, who once criticized Niner fans for not cheering or not cheering loud enough. He was correct but he was vilified for his comment. Cross would have loved me as a fan, but I couldn't afford the games back then on an editor's salary.)
- B/R Ticket Guide
I realize this blog will be seen as blasphemous by Niner Faithful, but come on, how long did Eddie DeBartolo try to build a stadium?
Now it's his sister and her husband John York and now Jed York? Come on. These are football no-nothings.
The Bay Area does not respect what the Niners meant to it. Five Super Bowl VICTORIES out of five appearances in 13 years. They were tops in all kinds of categories during that fantastic run.
If L.A. developer Ed Roski Jr. reads this, which isn't likely, I say: Get the dysfunctional Yorks to sell the Niners, whose front office is more chaotic and messy than a Barnum and Bailey circus train complete with elephant poop and other manure that stinks up whatever city it passes through.
In the Niners' case, the stink is ever-present at the team's Santa Clara headquarters.
Even though I grew up a fanatical L.A.-hating 49er Faithful, especially because my brother Mario Franco was an erstwhile just-as-fanatical L.A.-loving Rams, Lakers and Dodgers fan, I say it's time to bid farewell to the thankless Bay Area, especially San Francisco that can allow a baseball park to be built but not an NFL stadium.
So my plea is to Roski: Please take our Niners away and give them the stadium and respect they deserve and leave the foul-smelling South Bay to their cheap wine-gulping fans.
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2 months ago
First a Bonds bashing article and now this? I've got a new arch-enemy on this site. How dare you, as a "diehard fan" suggest the team move 300+ miles south? How dare you, as someone who has supposedly followed the team during good and bad, say that the fans don't care. Just like at the Giants games, with seats so expensive, the fans in the stadium are not the best judge but just look in the streets to see what this team means to San Franciscans.
And LA? Of all places LA? Did you see the "diehard fans" when the Lakers were in the NBA finals? What about the Dodger faithful that cheers loudly until they leave in the sixth inning to beat traffic? Not only is LA our biggest rivalry city, but they have some of the worst fairweather fans in all of sports. And you suggest we grant these spoiled snobs a storied NFL franchise because our fans don't cheer loud enough. You're a joke of a fan and a disgrace to all San Francisco fans based on the last two articles of yours I've read.
Move to LA so you can cheer for the Lakers, Dodgers and Raiders (since they're never getting the Niners) and why don't you write articles for the LA fans instead of pissing off every diehard San Francisco sports fans, the one's you claim don't even exist.
from 2 months ago
Does anyone rally understand satire? I guess I made the mistake of putting it in as an editorial, I think. Perhaps I didn't click satire. I want the Niners in SF, not even in Santa Clara, ok?
from 2 months ago
I hate the Lakers, the Rams and the Dodgers. My brother was an L.A. fan, so my hatred is probably a bit more than the average fan, as it was a rivalry with my brother and I always seemed to be on the losing end in all three sports, until the Warrriors won in 1976, Giants in 1988 and 2002. I'm simply making a point.
Also, for Mike, talk to Randy Cross about the wine-sipping comment. For years, the Niner fans paled in comparison to Kansas City, Oakland, even the Orange Bowl and Denver. I still think Niner fans are not loud enough. It comes through on big-screen TVs, especially, Mike, but even on radio and other TVs in the past, Niner fans were not loud unless we were winning. We need to be loud, win or lose.
from 2 months ago
Sorry to jump on your case too, but the Giants went to the series in 1989. Battle of the Bay, series interrupted by the quake of 89'
2 months ago
Mike, you can insult me all you want, but have you heard of satire? I think I forgot to click satire and clicked editorial. Don't you have a sense of humor? I don't even want the Niners in Santa Clara. I want them in SF.
I watched from afar because I never had a job where I didn't work seven days a week during the Niners' great run. Sorry for being a hard worker. But I watched crazily from afar, my friend, whether listening on the radio or watching on TV.
My family can tell you I'm as diehard a Niner fan as anyone. That you don't understand satire, I'm sorry for.
You might also want to ease up on the insults, "tough guy."
2 months ago
Hey Mike49er,
For all the BS you preach to all other football followers, this is the only fact that counts:
1. Arizona 23, 49ers 13, at Candlestick (Sept. 7, 2008)
Pathetic......
A twisted team deserves a twisted fan...enjoy the you're Chardonnay.
from 2 months ago
Thanks, Tony. I agree.
2 months ago
NinerMike: Sorry, I'be been a Niner fan longer than you've been alive. What I am saying lighten up on are the immature insults and saying things you assume but you don't know. That is why you are an immature little 49er fan, the kind whom Raider fans point to and say: WIMP! I can take heaps of criticism, guy. I was an editor for many years dating back to 1987. I ran letters to the editor and guest opinions that would make your baby hair shrivel. Make strong, valid points, ok? Refrain from your immature rants. That's my point. Call me out all you want, that's my point. But do it with wit, intelligence and good writing, not infantile rants.
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