In a move that appears to have disaster written all over it, the NFL has approved the Oakland Raiders’ move to southern Nevada. Look, I could care less about the fans losing a team, and I could care even less about the new fans gaining a team. I mean, I feel sorry for the loser and happy for the winners, I guess.
But the real story here is that the NFL, which doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to keeping its players out of the strip clubs or away from alcohol or even gambling, has just allowed one of the worst teams in the universe to move to the land where prostitution, gambling and alcohol consumption flow like the Niagara.
On the surface, it just seems really dumb. Under the surface, it just seems really dumber. Nevada deserves a team, or whatever, but couldn’t they have started off small? Maybe they could have moved a farm league and seen if they could keep those players out of trouble. Something tells me this isn’t going to work out.
According to ESPN, the vote was damn near unanimous, as 31 out of 32 owners voted to allow the team to move, with the Miami Dolphins being the only team against it.
“My position today was that we as owners and as a league owe it to the fans to do everything we can to stay in the communities that have supported us. I want to wish Mark Davis and the Raiders organization the best in Las Vegas,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told the Palm Beach Post.
Like a divorced couple living in the same house just waiting on the court to make it official, the Raiders will play the 2017 season in Oakland—and that won’t be awkward at all. Most likely it will take some time for the move to be official, since the 65,000-seat, domed stadium that will cost $1.9 billion and be shared with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is not expected to open until 2020.
Hopefully, that is enough time for everyone on the team to grasp what’s just happened here: One of the worst teams, which will probably be losing a lot, is moving to the land of pick-me-ups.
The over-under on the first arrest is two weeks after the move, but that might be a little optimistic.
Read more at ESPN.