The NFL is on the move, just which move do they make?

The state of the National Football League is in a bit of disarray.  Scandals both on and off the field have done a number on the reputation of individuals in the sport, and have drawn criticism of the organizations that harbor said characters.  The new Will Smith movie, “Concussion” has caused a rift among many ex-pro athletes, opening their eyes to just how deep this issue is, and how long the NFL has been aware of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE.

But we’ll save that for another time.  My immediate concern this week is the relocation of my hometown St. Louis Rams, thanks in large part to the team’s owner, Satan, I mean Stan Kroenke. I remember how excited I was as an 11-year old when the Rams were on their way out of Los Angeles and heading to St. Louis in 1995; I even attended their very first game at the now-renamed Trans World Dome. I donned a newly printed Isaac Bruce jersey, a royal blue and yellow Rams bandana, and waved my yellow towel throughout play. I’ve experienced a few franchise highs, such as “The Greatest Show on Turf” during their Super Bowl winning 1999 season, but a lot of lows – they haven’t sniffed the playoffs since 2004.

Most recently, I’ve spent six years in San Diego, so the Chargers are my go-to No. 2. They’ve been a staple in Southern California since 1960, but spent that very first year also in Los Angeles before moving to San Diego in 1961. They’ve had more success in recent memory, although they’ve never won a Super Bowl and are notorious for getting bounced early from the postseason. While the Rams haven’t had a franchise quarterback since Kurt Warner left after the 2003 season, the Super Chargers have had two consecutive Pro Bowl QB’s over the last 15 years, with Philip Rivers taking over for Drew Brees in 2006.

This star power should’ve produced a lot more for the Bolts, so the city’s constant disappointment may have played a hand in owner Dean Spanos’ search for what he considers greener pastures just a couple hours north in L.A.

There’s one more team in the City of Angels relocation mix – the Oakland Raiders. I’ve always greatly disliked the Raiders, so I can’t speak too much on what they do, because frankly, I don’t give a damn.

The Oakland Coliseum is a shit-hole (quite literally…they have major sewer back-up issues), their late owner couldn’t run the team to save his life (no pun intended…I hope that wasn’t too soon), and they’ve been a bit of a laughing stock over the last decade. This year has been somewhat of a turnaround, what with gunslinger Derek Carr manning the QB slot, but they still have a lot of work to do. The fact that all three teams have called Los Angeles home at one point is no coincidence. From the time I’ve spent in SoCal, there are still tons of fans of each in the city, with the Rams spending the most time there – five decades’ worth. Each franchise has also now filed relocation requests with the league office, more of a formality than an indication of what’s to come. L.A. would welcome all three teams back if it could, but I just don’t see how that’s feasible. With how vain the owners are and the city’s inability to keep any of them in the first place, it’d be wiser to go either one of two avenues.

The first route would be Carson, the city where both the Chargers and Raiders have put in a bid to share a mega-stadium, each calling it home. This would create double the revenue, with alternating team home games every single week, sort of like how the NY Giants and Jets do.

The land is available, but it’s not like in a year’s time they’d be playing in said mega-stadium, and because each club is petitioning to play the 2016 campaign in greater L.A., the cit(ies) involved would have to work something out. Can you really see the Raiders playing their home games at Dodger Stadium? Well, realistically their old stomping ground is still erect, the L.A. Coliseum, but they’d have to contend with field conditions as the USC Trojans would be playing just a day earlier on the same turf. Add the Chargers to the mix, and you’d have three teams utilizing one stadium for an unforeseen amount time. Crazy.

Then there’s the other option, that is Donkey, I mean Kroenke, calling St. Louis’ bluff by purchasing a large plot of land just outside of LAX, which makes a whole lot of sense (can you sense the sarcastic tone?). Just how was he planning on constructing a state-of-the-art stadium within arm’s reach of one of the country’s busiest airports? Well, apparently Inglewood is still in play to host the Rams, but I think the NFL would prefer to keep California teams in California. Anyway, at this point the Rams, at least, appear to have more support from their current city than do the other franchises, with San Diego said to already be “divorced” from the Chargers.

Even as current city officials scramble, NFL team owners are set to meet Tuesday and Wednesday to hopefully determine the next course of action.

For now, it’s all speculation, but as for my wishes, here’s to heading home to see my Rams play in their beautiful riverfront stadium on the banks of the Mississippi for many years to come.