Sports teams should stop lying about where they are

Is it really too much to ask that a sports team accurately represent where they are.

Growing up in New York I always had a problem with the New Jersey Giants and the New Jersey Jets trying to pass themselves off as New York’s team. If you can’t or don’t want to pony up the money to play in the city then you really shouldn’t have the right to falsely identify with them. And yes, while the Giants and the Titans (original name of the Jets) started out playing in New York City, the title of New York does not transfer in perpetuity.

I’m pretty sure the New York Baseball Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers wouldn’t get a pass if they were going to try and continue to milk New York.

This annoyance was brought up again because of an interview that Joe Montana recently gave that enlightened me on something I hadn’t realized. The 49’ers are moving to Santa Clara. The same Santa Clara that is 40 miles away from San Francisco and to which you must drive through no less than 5 separate cities (San Mateo, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Sunnyvale). Yet even though miles and cities now seperate the niners and San Francisco, the 49’ers are going to follow the Jets and Giants lead and still say they are from San Francisco.

Oddly enough, that might not be the worst case of misnaming in the state. The poor Anaheim Angels were feeling like they weren’t making enough bang for their buck in lowly ole Anaheim, yet instead of MOVING to Los Angeles, the Angels figured they would just hijack the city’s name and become the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim). That is basically the equivalent of having a mistress you love and tell everyone you are with yet having a wife whose only benefit is that you spend the night at her place in quasi secret.

Now, I’m not a totalitarian in this regard. If the Tampa Bay Rays and Bucs want to associate with the area of Tampa Bay instead of the city that seems reasonable. But by following the example of the aforementioned teams, if the Rays and Bucs moved to Pensacola, nestled right into Pensacola Bay, they would still be referred to as the Tampa Bay Rays and Buc? Ludicrous.

Or if the Golden State Warriors moved to Nevada, aka the Silver State yet held onto the Golden State association. Or the New England Patriots moved to the deep south yet wanted to continue using New England.

Is it too much to ask that teams be truthful about where they are:

Anaheim Angels

Santa Clara 49’ers

East Rutherford Giants or

New Jersey Jets

Landover Redskins

Yeah…not so sexy without the big cities but not everyone can be the Green Bay Packers. Either own your home or move to the city you wish to be a parasite from. Billion dollar sports teams shouldn’t whine and moan about it and try to have their cake and eat it too.

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