The article could be one that I tackle sometime as it imagined a revamp of the league where you were forced to keep the number of teams that currently are in the league, but can place them where you think would be best.
The article sent me in a different direction as I thought of this- how many of my teams would I continue to root for in the event that they would move?
I've been through this once with the Browns and the Devils were very close to moving in the mid-nineties, so I have some experience in this area.
I've had teams move, very narrowly missing a move, and teams that float rumors to see what they can pull from a city with the threat of leaving.
I'm sure that through the years of writing this small piece of work that I've told the stories of how I've come to root for certain teams, but I'm sure that I haven't written an article of who I would follow and who would be cast aside for a new team as a price for their deception.
I'm so disgusted with baseball right now that I'm not sure that I wouldn't just say to hell with it, should the Indians (or soon to be whomever's) leave Cleveland.
The Indians lease at their stadium expires after the 2022 season and should a city step up to the plate and build a new stadium, I wouldn't put it past the team leaving Cleveland.
Fortunately, that's unlikely because there aren't any cities that are suitable and ready to go.
The fan apathy has been rising towards the team of late as the refusal of the Dolan family to spend money on a player or two to allow the team to support Francisco Lindor before he leaves for free agency and with the team asking for more money for renovations at a time of national emergency, I think that there will be more and more whispers about the future of the team in Cleveland.
Had the pandemic not occurred, I think the team would be in far more danger than they will turn out to be in the end.
There aren't any standout cities that have the size and stadium ready to go to attract a team and I'm doubtful that a city will step with baseball in the flux that it currently finds itself.
But could it happen? Sure.
Would I follow? Doubtful, but maybe depending on where they would land.
The Giants and Pirates?
Both have beautiful ballparks that make watching home games a treat, but I don't have a connection to either city and both have problems with relocation.
The Giants would be unlikely to bring their announcing crew along with all three of their television crew living in the Bay Area, and the Pirates would likely pursue a name change.
Without the broadcasting crew that brought in as a fan, the Giants might become just another team and without the memories, the Pirates would be the same.
The Pirates lease ends after the 2030 season, while the Giants lease runs through at least 2038.
So for baseball, I might move with the National League teams, but the chances are equal that I wouldn't either.
The Indians, I could consider depending on where they would go, but it's unlikely that would happen.
In football, I wouldn't follow the Browns.
I had the chance to do that once and it took me about a half-second to make that decision.
Perhaps much of that was the selection of Baltimore as the destination, but Art Modell's treachery was never going to be rewarded by me.
I cannot see a scenario short of a move in-state that I would consider leaving them for.
The Browns lease expires in 2029, so some sort of renovation or even a new stadium talk will begin in the next few years.
In the NBA, I would likely not follow the Cavaliers in such a scenario.
That's not going to happen after the recent renovation to the Gund/Q/Rocket Fuel Malt Liquor Arena/Fieldhouse which locked the Cavaliers to Cleveland through at least 2034 and through two options as long as 2044.
The Cavaliers are the team that I have rooted for the longest, and I'd be doubtful to go with them to a new city, especially if they dropped the nickname.
Moving to the NHL, the New Jersey Devils are in a unique situation as the owners own the lease to the building, but not necessarily the building itself.
The owners aren't likely to leave an arena that they have a business interest in, but the Devils are part of a market that is one team too large and with the Islanders building a new arena, I wouldn't feel safe in the long run.
I've read two conflicting pieces that listed the end of the Devils lease at Prudential Center as 2027 or 2032, so there is time to see what the future would bring.
The Devils are the only number one team on my list that I don't have a personal reason to follow, my fandom doesn't have an attachment to New Jersey, and the transient history of the team (Kansas City and Colorado before New Jersey) would make the Devils the one team on this list that I would be likely to consider following.
Other factors could change that, such as the team moving far west where I couldn't see as many games or changing the nickname to something like the Kraken, but the team could be possible to stay as my favorite NHL team.
That's how I'd feel about if my teams moved, but stay tuned as later this week, I'll be continuing the possible scenarios with this- If I didn't follow my teams, what teams would be in the running to take their place?
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