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COMMENTARY adavantage. This support year. The cycle that once problem has existed for The reality of relocation | iitereadownto the brought Alberta the some time. Most of us playing fieldandtheteams Flames anda StanleyCup cannot remember whether by Marc Macdonald made it to the NFL’s hasnowswungbackfor the Minnesota Lakers SPORTS EDITOR pensive players. Ifthe biggest game and sport’s the Thrashers and could were any good but most team does not have the most heavily televised once again move the people can testify to the Regardlessofwho __ bestplayersitcannot win. game. Flames south of the winning records of the won this year’s Super Cities with losing teams Football is far from border. © Magic Johnson Showtime have fans that the only example. Take a The same thing era and the current Kobe often lose inter- Quebec fan and ask him happened in Minnesota and Shaq league leading est in attending about the Colorado where the North Stars Lakers. The Jazz have games. Attend- | Avalanche. Fans of the moved to Dallasinthe mid —_ also enjoyed many suc- ance is tied to Nordiques were upset ninetiesandthenwonthe _ cessful seasons in Utah finance which is when the teams left Que- cup last year. Support since relocating there. In tied to winning. bec butthey wereseem- had gonestaleintherabid _ baseball there the classic It may be only ingly unsure of how to hockey area of are examples of the natural that if react off when the Ava- Mineapolis, and now, Dodgers and the Giants , teams are not lanche won the Stanley perhaps because of the moving from East to West getting good Cup the next season. Stars success next year and then winning. attendance in Some people in Quebec NHL hockey will return to Perhaps the answer their home city even suggested havingthe Minneapolisintheformof is, as Dave Supleve sports they should Avalanche in a Stanley the Minnesota Wild. editor for the Winnipeg adapt,asDarwin Cup parade in Quebec A similar trend Sun put it, when explain- would say, and _ City. The fact is that the exists inthe NFL aswell. _ ing the loss of the Winni- movetoanother, teamneverwonaStanley The Cleveland Browns peg Jets. Supleve said that more receptive Cup while in Quebec. moved and became Winnipeg was a second city. Relocation Althoughitmay bea Baltimore Ravens, then class city and did not of professional coincidence thatthe team _last year Cleveland won deserve a first class sports Bowl there were many sports teams may just be won the very next year it the rights to another team. This may be true of obvious losers . These survival of the fittest. franchise and the all smaller cities in that loser is, of course, were The evidence re 2 atte jd ~ support (and cites that have lost their given earlier is a e Browns erefore do not deserve) professional sports fran- prime example. The [It] was a second again, threeseason _ teams from the major chises. The fact that it was two teams that made class cit and did after they left. And sporting leagues. Or ; y ag not the Los Angeles Rams __ it to the champion- ofcourse youcan _perhapsitiis simply a case and the Houston Oilersin ship game in football n ot deserve a ahah the of cities Bai their Super Bowl XXXIV says _ were two teams that i uncing teams because relocation something about the recently relocated. first class sports from Oakland to is only becoming more relocation of teams. The fact that Ten- team. L.A.thenbackto _ popularand if sports fans It is not luck that nessee and St. Louis Oakland again. It are not careful they may teams often begintowin wanted these teams seems thatinorder wake up tomorrow morn- when they aremovedtoa _led to their success. The can not be denied that for some cities to appreci- —_ ing and find their home “newcity, but Charles cities showed enough Colorado has giving the ate thier franchises, they _ team thousands of miles Darwin’stheories applied _interesttogettheteamsto team greater supportnow _first have to losethemand away. to modern sportsowner- _movetandthensupported _ than Quebec City did in then pay excessive ship. Owners care them when they arrived. the years immediately amounts of money in order enough about the winning . Bothfranchiseshadbeen __ before the team moved. to get another franchise a record of their team (or mired in anemic post Atlantais another few years down the road. the amount of money season records, the Rams 800d example in the NHL. Major League coming in), that they will since the early eighties, The Georgia city hadthe Baseball and the National move the teamiffansare andthe Titans (nee Flames who moved to Basketball Association are not attending games. If Oilers) sincethetimeof Calgary andeventually not exceptions to the fans don’tcome, theteam _ Earl Campbell, in their won aStanleyCup.Now _ relocating then winning big doesn’t makemoney. If __previoushome. The Calgary is in danger of phenomena. Although the team doesn’t make support waned andfthey _ losing the Flames and some of the examples in money itcan’taffordto moved to gain, onceagain, _Thrashersare playing these leagues are much gethighcaliberandex- _atrulyhomefield | hockey in Atlantathis | older they provethatthe PSOE SESS COE ee COE See ee eee

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