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Monday, August 21, 2017

Raiders, not Rams or Chargers, already won the Fight for L.A.

Mark Davis says Raiders, not Rams or Chargers, already won the Fight for L.A.

The Raiders, who once called Los Angeles home, are leaving Oakland for Las Vegas in 2020. And even though Los Angeles went from no NFL teams to two in the last 18 months, Raiders owner Mark Davis remains convinced that the Raiders, currently situated 370 miles north, have already won the Fight for L.A. over the hometown Rams and Chargers.
"You know, it's kind of funny," Davis told the Los Angeles Daily News' Vincent Bonsignore. "They're talking about the fight for Los Angeles. And Raiders fans have been telling me we already won that fight, and that the Rams and Chargers are fighting for the No. 2 and 3 spots."
The Raiders were in the mix to relocate to Los Angeles as late as January 2016, joining forces with the rival Chargers' bid to build a stadium in Carson, but NFL owners, in a secret ballot, approved Stan Kroenke's Englewood stadium complex instead. That vote paved the way for the Rams' move to Los Angeles before last season and the Chargers move north from San Diego for 2017. Both teams are expected to move into Kroenke's massive stadium complex before the 2019 season.
The Raiders, however, which called L.A. home from 1982-1994, remain wildly popular in the area.
"A good portion have come from Los Angeles and Southern California," Davis explained, "Without stepping on any toes, we're going to market ourselves in Los Angeles area. And San Diego. We're reaching out to Raider Nation in Southern California. It's strong there."
A laughing Davis added: "I think we already won that battle."
And while Davis' future is in the Nevada desert, for now he has one focus.
"Right now we're the Oakland Raiders," he said. "And we're going to represent the city of Oakland and try to bring a championship here. ...
"Obviously there's some very, very passionate fans that still believe we should stay here and I don't begrudge them from feeling that. They're passionate fans, and they believe the Raiders should stay in Oakland. I understand that. But we had to do what was best for the franchise."
How good can this team be? More bets have been placed on the Raiders to win Super Bowl LII than any other NFL team at sportsbooks around Vegas. By comparison, the Chargers and Rams have some of the worst odds in the league to bring home the Lombardi Trophy.

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