WI the Colts never leave Baltimore?

[NapoleonXIV]

Irsay shops the Indianapolis deal and a consortium of Baltimore businesses better it. The Colts stay in Balto in 1984.

I know it's sorta ASB, Balto in 1984 wanted to have their team and kick it around too. Let's say Irsay keeps the dealings with Indianapolis secret but let's local businesses in on just enough to scare them into acting, while meanwhile his lawyers let Schaefer know that no amount of legal machinations is going to rob him of his own property. Upshot is that the Colt's stay

 

[panzerjay]

wait...i thought you were a sportist?

or you re some sockpuppet?

 

[NapoleonXIV]

wait...i thought you were a sportist?

or you re some sockpuppet?

Doesn't mean I can't appreciate the business aspects, or the historic and sociocultural ramifications. I can be objective, in fact.

Robbie Rotten is one of the most active people in Lazytown.

 

[Big Tex]

Well it depends on how the team does economically and on the field but theres a Chance the Browns and Oilers are inspired and don't move (doubt it becuse Modell and especially Adams are douches). Expansion and movement would be very different. The Browns might move to Indianapolis unless an expansion team gets there first. THere might even be some fishy dealings that involve Nashville and Houston. Maybe a team moves right back to Houston and takes the old Oiler colors so we esentially still have the Oilers.

Kind of difficult to say, I don't see much difference except maybe on the filed results and different draft picsk etc. If Baltimore stays and Indy gets what is esesnitally OTL Browns/Ravens, then the championships are simply switched and Cleveland is still boned.

Sociocultural though, Baltimore would have a ton more team pride and history with them and the city at least has that to cling to that being just that "rust belt abandonded city north of DC with a huge steel mill that doesnt work and stars in the Wire."

 

[1940LaSalle]

Sociocultural though, Baltimore would have a ton more team pride and history with them and the city at least has that to cling to that being just that "rust belt abandonded city north of DC with a huge steel mill that doesnt work and stars in the Wire."

I can't address the business about "stars in the Wire" (not even sure what that's all about, thus dating myself), but the part about a rust belt city north of DC with a now-largely-defunct steel mill is right on the button. I was born and raised in Baltimore (although I left for good in 1976) and saw its decline over time--a decline that started with the 1959 steel strike and was greatly accelerated by the Inner Harbor project in the 1980s.

True, it has the results of that project (essentially, a mall that could be from anywhere plunked down by what was once a working harbor) and the downtown stadia, but the rest of the city is a nightmare. The population is falling and becoming poorer; middle-class or upscale enclaves are shrinking fast or vanishing altogether; the change to a service/financial economy never materialized; the downtown retail district is, apart from special interest stores, essentially kaput. Baltimore is on its way-fast-to become another St. Louis or worse, another Detroit.

 

[Xen]

First Ill say Irsay was a douche too, not just Modell and Adams (especially Adams, at least Modell could say in all truth that his stadium was beginning to fall apart).

How about this, Irsay wants to move to Indianapolis but not before the team is temporarily seized by the city of Baltimore in eminent domain. Irsay sues Baltimore and the NFL, eventually there is an agreement between Irsay, Baltimore and the NFL. Irsay will move his players to Indianapolis while leaving behind the Colts name, colors and history, the team still plays in Baltimore for 1984 as the legal dealings are going on. Baltimore and Phoenix will get an expansion team in an emergency expansion for 1985. Irsay calls his team the Indianapolis Stallions with uniform colors of blue, silver and white.

 

[Big Tex]

First Ill say Irsay was a douche too, not just Modell and Adams (especially Adams, at least Modell could say in all truth that his stadium was beginning to fall apart).

How about this, Irsay wants to move to Indianapolis but not before the team is temporarily seized by the city of Baltimore in eminent domain. Irsay sues Baltimore and the NFL, eventually there is an agreement between Irsay, Baltimore and the NFL. Irsay will move his players to Indianapolis while leaving behind the Colts name, colors and history, the team still plays in Baltimore for 1984 as the legal dealings are going on. Baltimore and Phoenix will get an expansion team in an emergency expansion for 1985. Irsay calls his team the Indianapolis Stallions with uniform colors of blue, silver and white.

If I ever see Adams walking down the street I will punch him, and I know very well that he has the money to have me secretly killed.

I wish every team would at least leave the name, colors, and history behind. Thank God They became the Tennessee Titans instead of just leaving it as Tennessee Oilers. The 1999 Superbowl was hard enough to see the team break through for the first time in history (although 1 yard away is a little bit of Karma, my dad went nuts over that play).

It's also the crap there trying to pull in Seattle right now with the Sonics. If they are going to move to OKC for the love of everything good in this world leave the team name and history.

Sorry for the rant, very passionate about teams moving due to owners greed.

 

[1940LaSalle]

Sorry for the rant, very passionate about teams moving due to owners greed.

On the other hand, it would serve Mario Lemieux right if, in about five years, the Pittsburgh Penguins can't come up with the bucks needed to satisfy both Malkin and Crosby and were forced to let one go. In turn, that could well lead to the decline of the team, and force its eventual move to, say, Seattle.

Lemieux has been bailed out once already financially; the team apparently tanked for a couple of seasons to get the draft position that would afford them Crosby; they get two orders of magnitude more than the average benefit of the doubt from the officials in any game (glaring at Crosby is a two minute minor, apparently). Thus, it would be just a bit of poetic justice if, for the 2013-2014 season they became the Seattle Totems.

 

[Kevin in Indy]

The sentiment here at the time was that the city was going to build a sports industry, and the brand-new Hoosier Dome was built to entice an NFL franchise (although it was a little small for a brand-new venue of that day). If Irsay doesn't jump, I'm not sure we can get Modell fast enough - I'm afraid the ante in this game would go up too fast for the venue to remain viable. Perhaps we can get consideration for an expansion franchise later on, perhaps the slot which in OTL became the Houston Texans.

(editorial - as far as I'm concerned we could have stayed out of the NFL bidding war altogether. The current level of entitlements extorted from cities nowadays is too high to justify. I think the city of Indianapolis could have done just fine with a 40-50K seat outdoor stadium suitable for a mix of high school and college games, band shows, tractor pulls , and perhaps an occasional pre-season game from the Bears or Bengals. I can see an awful lot of games for the cost of a big TV and a couple of sports packages, and the tax burden is a lot lower.)

 

[Ace Venom]

Well it depends on how the team does economically and on the field but theres a Chance the Browns and Oilers are inspired and don't move (doubt it becuse Modell and especially Adams are douches). Expansion and movement would be very different. The Browns might move to Indianapolis unless an expansion team gets there first. THere might even be some fishy dealings that involve Nashville and Houston. Maybe a team moves right back to Houston and takes the old Oiler colors so we esentially still have the Oilers.

The Oilers move was inevitable because Adams kept wanting more than the citizens of Houston were willing to give him. The whole reason the team in Houston is called the Texans and not the Oilers is because Adams maintained the rights to the Oilers name.

 

[Big Tex]

The Oilers move was inevitable because Adams kept wanting more than the citizens of Houston were willing to give him. The whole reason the team in Houston is called the Texans and not the Oilers is because Adams maintained the rights to the Oilers name.

I'm well aware of the Rat Bastard's tactics

 

[Ace Venom]

I'm well aware of the Rat Bastard's tactics

Yeah. We have to deal with an NFL owner similar to Adams: Tom Benson.