[Elvis]

Hokahey is basically a good guy who is trying very hard to keep the Rams in St. Louis. And that's admirable.

But he's also been quick to personally attack anyone who suggested the Rams might be leaving, and has viewed events in an often very biased, sometimes ludicrous way.

Once Stockbridge announced their plans to build the stadium with the Kroenke Group in Inglewood, Hokahey stopped posting at RRF...

I'm reminded of the long threads started after Kroenke spoke when he took over the Rams. Many said that St. Louis fan should be aware that his statement about his "intention" to keep the Rams in St. Louis and other ambiguous offerings shouldn't be taken lightly.

Sadly, I'm not mature enough to now feel sympathy for those who were so snide and condescending back then.

I'm mature enough that i vacillate back and forth a little.

And i have friends in St. Louis who are not, in anyway, trolls.

But yeah, some of these posters have been pretty insufferable over the last couple of years on the relocation stuff...

[dieterbrock]

Its never sat too well with me how some of the St Louis folks would take shots at the loyal LA guys who were still die hard fans of the team.
The warning signs were there that LA was still in the realm, but any article or statement made was so easily dismissed.

Tomslick once said something that really stuck with me about the St Louis Only Rams fans. To paraphrase, he said something to the effect of, we needed a blend of fans who were fans of St Louis only and fans of the Rams who were fans wherever they went. If the St louis folks stayed loyal to the Cardinals, and LA loyal to LA, there wouldnt be any fans at the game

[Elvis]

BTW, doesn't this part seem a little Mark Fabiani-ish?

- The Rams are not keen on sharing the stadium with an MLS team.

[snackdaddy]

Sounds like he stumbled into him at a cafe, at least that's what Hokahey is saying.

Some of us know Hokahey from RRF and though he's a bit of a piece of work, i don't know that he's ever straight out made anything up. But he's wrong all the time and sees everything in the best possible light for St. Louis' chances.

And what's Demoff saying? It's not over yet. What else is he going to say at the beginning of the season?

And this his Hokahey's best spin, someone who desperately wants the Rams to say, who's in the same camp as Shane Gray...

This. Hokahey is extremely biased and can only see things from one perspective. How he interprets them. Demoff mighta said something totally different than what Hokahey is saying, but Hokahey hears what he wants. Hokahey was the guy who once said anyone who doesn't live in the St, Louis area can't be as good a Rams fan as those who do live in St. Louis. He doesn't understand people have been fans decades before they moved there and he jumped on the bandwagon. I believe he's also the one who said if they leave they won't be his team anymore. Not sure I'd call that a true Rams fan. More of a true St. Louis fan.

[The Ripper]

BTW, doesn't this part seem a little Mark Fabiani-ish?

- The Rams are not keen on sharing the stadium with an MLS team.

Yes and no. If you look at it as self serving than yes. I have been posting on this for months on other boards. There's not enough corporate support for 3 possibly 2 teams in St Louis. The Cardinals garner a majority of the corporate support and the other teams suffer. If another team was added to the mix the already miserable revenues would get worse for the Blues and the Rams. The other issue is that MLS would never allow Kroenke to make money from another MLS team in St Louis. The desperate are saying that Kroneke could move his team to the city but why would he if he already has doubts in regards to the cities ability to generate long term support.

[bluecoconuts]

BTW, doesn't this part seem a little Mark Fabiani-ish?

- The Rams are not keen on sharing the stadium with an MLS team.

Yes and no. If you look at it as self serving than yes. I have been posting on this for months on other boards. There's not enough corporate support for 3 possibly 2 teams in St Louis. The Cardinals garner a majority of the corporate support and the other teams suffer. If another team was added to the mix the already miserable revenues would get worse for the Blues and the Rams. The other issue is that MLS would never allow Kroenke to make money from another MLS team in St Louis. The desperate are saying that Kroneke could move his team to the city but why would he if he already has doubts in regards to the cities ability to generate long term support.

The Blues have tons of issues making money and selling tickets, I was actually shocked at how many issues they were having. They're having problems selling out playoff games even. I think that's a pretty big sticking point for the Rams, because while people will point to their poor record and say that's the problem, it doesn't tell the entire story. Of course attendance will dip because of poor play, but you can't expect a team to be good forever. If a playoff team is having issues selling 19,000 seats, how are they to confidently invest hundreds of millions of dollars and expect a good ROI? I've noticed some people act as if there's unlimited money there for the taking, the team just has to be good enough, but that's not the case. There's a pie, and it's all about taking as much of it as possible. They will always be in competition with the Cardinals, and when the GSOT was in town the Cardinals attendance, while still good, dipped a little. It jumped back up after the Rams got worse. That's not a slight on St Louis fans, but it's similar to what the market study said, there is a lack of a robust area to draw fans and money from. The reason why a city like Los Angeles or New York can have so many teams and yet more teams are trying to get in, the pie is so much bigger, even if they get a smaller percentage, they're getting a lot more money.. And if they get a large percentage?....

[BuiltRamTough]

Welcome aboard Blue. Nice to have you here. Only positive vibes and relocation discussion is the main topic

[dieterbrock]

I gotta say, I've had my ups and downs with Hok but all in all I liked the guy. And if he ever catches wind that there's a thread dedicated to him that has the following it has, his ego will get quite the boost!

[Elvis]

The Blues have tons of issues making money and selling tickets, I was actually shocked at how many issues they were having. They're having problems selling out playoff games even. I think that's a pretty big sticking point for the Rams, because while people will point to their poor record and say that's the problem, it doesn't tell the entire story. Of course attendance will dip because of poor play, but you can't expect a team to be good forever. If a playoff team is having issues selling 19,000 seats, how are they to confidently invest hundreds of millions of dollars and expect a good ROI? I've noticed some people act as if there's unlimited money there for the taking, the team just has to be good enough, but that's not the case. There's a pie, and it's all about taking as much of it as possible. They will always be in competition with the Cardinals, and when the GSOT was in town the Cardinals attendance, while still good, dipped a little. It jumped back up after the Rams got worse. That's not a slight on St Louis fans, but it's similar to what the market study said, there is a lack of a robust area to draw fans and money from. The reason why a city like Los Angeles or New York can have so many teams and yet more teams are trying to get in, the pie is so much bigger, even if they get a smaller percentage, they're getting a lot more money.. And if they get a large percentage?....

Nice to have you on board, your posts (especially on relocation) are always good.

A similar point that i've made before is as great of an organization as the Cardinals are they're worth less than half of the Yankees and little more than half of the Dodgers. There's no substitute for market size...

[Hacksaw]

I gotta say, if he ever catches wind that there's a thread dedicated to him that has the following it has, his ego will get quite the boost!

lol.

Very cool to see BC here. This place just keeps getting better all the time