To paraphrase rap legend Big Daddy Kane, pimpin’ pro sports in San Antonio ain’t easy.

The NBA season may be over, but we all know the Spurs aren’t going anywhere. Nor are the Missions, who have been around since 1888.

The situation is similar with the Rampage hockey team, which inexplicably draws 6,000 fans per game and has become a fixture on the city sports landscape. And San Antonio FC, undefeated on the pitch so far this season and putting 6,000-7,000 scarf-wearing butts in the seats, will also be here (in some form) for a long time.

And yet somewhere, deep in the hearts of thousands of longtime local sports fans, there is a longing for a team that has ceased to be. It’s unrequited love for something that disappeared abruptly, without warning, and never gave loyalists a chance for a proper goodbye.

Most fans remember the Scorpions, the Iguanas and the Dragons, but what of the Wings of the World Football League? The Force of the Arena Football League? Or the International of the Lone Star Soccer Alliance?

Since 1975, at least nine outdoor football teams have come and gone. In addition, there have been three indoor football teams, two hockey teams and eight soccer teams that are defunct. There was even a World Team Tennis franchise in San Antonio. There were 12 incarnations of baseball teams, including Negro League squads, dating back to the 19th Century.

You might have been a fan of one of the more recent teams. You probably showed up at the first game, or shortly after that, out of boredom or curiosity.

And you had fun because of the action or the fans sitting around you or because it was cheap. Beyond that, you made an emotional investment in the team. It was something you liked, separate from the mass appeal of the Cowboys or the Spurs or the Longhorns or the Aggies. The Pumas, the Charros, the Toros, the Gunslingers or whatever became your team.

One day, out of the blue, you heard — from a friend, a parent, a newspaper article or a short blurb on television — that your team was shutting down, immediately and forever.

And it was always frustrating because the team had fans who showed up for games.

Nationally and historically, many failed franchises have drawn enough fans to be popular and make money, but bad local management or inept league commissioners sabotaged their efforts.

That’s the template for minor league failure, says sports branding and marketing consultant Joe Favorito.

“It’s not whether a team can survive, but whether the league is viable,” Favorito said. “One of the big problems is that newer leagues aren’t sustainable. You can be as successful as you want as an owner, but if the league or the other owners aren’t successful, you won’t be.”

That’s what happened to the San Antonio Racquets of World Team Tennis. Local owners did well; the league did not.

The Big Four sports come with lucrative television deals. Even organizations such as the Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins, Cleveland Browns or Philadelphia 76ers, which are badly run or sparsely attended, can thrive with a healthy league behind them. A healthy league can hold out for decades until the flailing team can stand on its own.

“If the NHL wanted to put a team in San Antonio,” Favorito said, “that team would succeed. Indoor football? Probably not.”

The NBA D-League and the WNBA survive because of the financial backing of the NBA. Minor league baseball survives because MLB teams provide players, training and coaching.

Favorito has forced me to re-think yet another position on professional soccer.

The estimated $150 million entry fee for an MLS franchise, I now realize, isn’t necessarily a ransom to line the pockets of greedy league officials. Instead, it is an insurance policy for new owners to make sure the league can support its member teams.

The modern-day sports landscape is now too expensive for most potential owners. Gone are the days of shelling out a few thousand bucks to play in a Big Four sport.

Despite that, there are reports of more football on the horizon and … wait for it … a chance San Antonio will get an expansion team!

Major League Football, which exists only as a business plan at the moment, claims to have eight league-owned teams lined up. League reps have inquired about the availability of the Alamodome. No firm starting date has been announced.

If MLFB becomes a reality, you might want to show up early for the first game. If history tells us anything, there’s no guarantee the new team will last until mid-season. Or even halftime.

rbragg@express-news.net

Twitter: @roybragg