The Los Angeles NFL franchises have realized that they need to pretend to be excited about the arrival of LeBron James to town, even if they are, at a minimum, concerned about how the return to prominence of the Lakers may eclipse other local sports teams.
Maybe the rising LeBron tide lifts all L.A. boats. Maybe there are still only so many dollars and hours to spend and to spare on supporting and following sports. Regardless, the Rams and Chargers need to observe the “when in Rome” mantra, and pay homage to Emperor James.
The Rams gave James a formal welcome tweet, with a photo of him attending a Rams game at the L.A. Coliseum. The Chargers opted to simply retweet a player’s tweet. Neither team’s official website, however, mentions the most stunning L.A. sports development since Wayne Gretzky’s arrival 30 years ago.
It’s easy to try to shrug at this, but any responsible sports businessperson knows that LeBron will have a ripple effect on other local sporting interests. That gift card from MeeMaw, for example, that may have been spent on a Todd Gurley jersey will now go to a sleeveless yellow No. 23. The discretionary cash in the family budget that may have been devoted to football outings will now go to paying a premium on the secondary market to Witness.
While it’s the dawn of a potentially a thrilling time for L.A. sports fans, L.A. sports fans necessarily will prioritize. And that will put pressure on each sports team to deliver, or to risk being disregarded.
As to the Rams and Chargers, it becomes a much bigger deal for the team that arrived in L.A. a year late and that plays in an undersized stadium. With two local football, basketball, and baseball teams, L.A. is on the verge of being a Rams-Lakers-Dodgers city, with the Lakers poised to take over the top spot, quickly.