Quote:I don't get all the tears and sympathy for St. Louis, TBH, especially as it relates to Jacksonville.

 

Yes, it sucks to lose an NFL team.

 

But St. Louis has lost two (2) NFL teams in less than 30 years. They lost the Cardinals over stadium issues.  The Cardinals wanted their own stadium, and St. Louis rejected it.  The Cardinals had openly discussed relocating, including an overture to Jacksonville in the 1980s.  St. Louis ignored the Cardinals requests and lost them.

 

St. Louis KNEW after that how important stadium issues are.  When they lured the Rams to town, the city knowingly and willingly promised the Rams a stadium in the top 25 percent or so of the league.

 

Soon, the TWA dome/Edward Jones Dome grew obsolete.  By any number of objective, outside measures, the dome in St. Louis ranked among the worst in the league.  Still, they didn't rectify the situation, and they lost the Rams.

 

It would be one thing if they supported the Cardinals and Rams.  But they didn't.

 

Jacksonville, long knocked for our attendance, outdrew the Rams nine (9) out of the last ten (10) years.  I'm betting it would even be more lopsided if you went back to 1996.

 

It sucks that the football fans in St. Louis lost their team.  But the city leaders failed them again.