Nugget from the MMQB column on the Raiders move to Vegas.
Decades ago, the late Raiders owner Al Davis ruminated about wanting to relocate his team to Las Vegas. And it turned out that was the one creek where he couldn’t swim upstream.
Too seedy. Too much gambling. Too much mafia. Too far from the NFL’s ideals.
It was too far to go for even the ultimate renegade owner, the one who once sued the NFL to kick open the door to Los Angeles, only to return to Oakland 13 years later.
That’s why when I asked around over the past week about Davis’s son, Mark, trying to move the team there now, what caught my attention most was the lack of concern over the stigma of Sin City among team owners, presidents and those at 345 Park. In most cases, in fact, I had to bring it up for it even to be a topic of conversation.
Times have changed, and what was once a big question simply isn’t one anymore.
“From a gambling standpoint? That’s a joke to even say that’d be a problem,” said one AFC owner. “That was an issue decades ago. Now? Sports gambling is going to be legal. We might as well embrace it and become part of the solution, rather than fight it. It’s in everyone’s best interests for it to be above-board.”
Said an NFC owner: “The first question, naturally, is going to be about gambling. But any of us can pull our phones out of our pockets and place a bet right now. [The concern] is not 100 percent put to bed, but it’s relatively put to bed, just because of technology today.”
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Maybe this discussion will create some momentum on the matter.
Decades ago, the late Raiders owner Al Davis ruminated about wanting to relocate his team to Las Vegas. And it turned out that was the one creek where he couldn’t swim upstream.
Too seedy. Too much gambling. Too much mafia. Too far from the NFL’s ideals.
It was too far to go for even the ultimate renegade owner, the one who once sued the NFL to kick open the door to Los Angeles, only to return to Oakland 13 years later.
That’s why when I asked around over the past week about Davis’s son, Mark, trying to move the team there now, what caught my attention most was the lack of concern over the stigma of Sin City among team owners, presidents and those at 345 Park. In most cases, in fact, I had to bring it up for it even to be a topic of conversation.
Times have changed, and what was once a big question simply isn’t one anymore.
“From a gambling standpoint? That’s a joke to even say that’d be a problem,” said one AFC owner. “That was an issue decades ago. Now? Sports gambling is going to be legal. We might as well embrace it and become part of the solution, rather than fight it. It’s in everyone’s best interests for it to be above-board.”
Said an NFC owner: “The first question, naturally, is going to be about gambling. But any of us can pull our phones out of our pockets and place a bet right now. [The concern] is not 100 percent put to bed, but it’s relatively put to bed, just because of technology today.”
===
Maybe this discussion will create some momentum on the matter.
