5/26/2023 0 Comments Fanatical football names cowboysYou're about to tell me about the television market, and I'm about to counter: So what? It's 2016. The only other is Maine, whose populace is somewhat assuaged by the inclusiveness of the term New England Patriots, and even if it is not-well, who cares about Maine? It is one of only two states among the contiguous 48 that is not either home to an NFL franchise or bordering a state that is. It boasts more eagles than Philadelphia-think of that pregame flyovers-more cowboys than Dallas and more grizzlies than the Bears. "And the entrance to Yellowstone National Park is just 90 minutes away. And what NFL fans wouldn't circle the date, and visit their favorite online travel site, immediately after seeing their favorite team had a game in Billings? "From Billings, the Little Bighorn battlefield, site of Custer's Last Stand, is about an hour's drive," says Brewer. On the other hand, we have no sales tax, and we could build a stadium closer to downtown than, say, the one in which the Arizona Cardinals play." "Our largest venue currently is MetraPark, which seats about 12,000," says Brewer, "so we'd have to build a stadium. Considering that Lambeau Field has sold out every game for the past 55 years and that there is a 30-year waiting list for season tickets, the factor preventing Green Bay from being atop that pack is not its fan base, but rather the seating capacity at Lambeau. Green Bay, despite being by far the tiniest urban center of any NFL franchise, finished third in the NFL in average attendance in 2015 (78,413), behind only the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. It might seem like a paradox to the billionaires who own NFL franchises, but the smaller the market, the more promising the fan base. "Plus, we have over 5,000 hotel rooms and a major airport." "Montana is a fanatical sports state and Billings is a sporting community," says Brewer, who adds that there are seven breweries (he recommends the Street Fight Imperial Red Ale from Angry Hank's) within walking distance of downtown. Folks here would think nothing of driving to Billings from Bozeman, from Butte, even from Boise, Idaho, to attend a Bighorns game. Where the speed limit is 80 miles per hour and the horizon is more expansive than Vince Wolfork's backside. "We have two NFL season-ticket holders in my office alone," says Brewer, noting co-workers who root for the Broncos and Seahawks.Ī Seahawks season-ticket holder in Billings? That, in terms of distance, is the equivalent of being a Pittsburgh Steelers season-ticket holder while living in Kansas City. The nearest NFL franchise to the west, the Seattle Seahawks, is 817 miles away, while the nearest to the east, the Minnesota Vikings, is 840 miles away. The closest NFL franchise is Denver, which is 554 miles-or about the distance between Jacksonville and New Orleans-south. In fact, if NFL commissioner Roger Goodell were searching a map for the epicenter of the Lower 48 that has yet to be colonized by an NFL franchise, he would place a thumbtack in Billings. True, Green Bay draws fans from Milwaukee and all of Wisconsin, but Billings would draw pilgrims from throughout Montana, as well as its four neighboring states (Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming), none of which have an NFL franchise. Billings, the largest city in Montana, has a population of 109,000. The town of Green Bay, Wisconsin, home to the most devoted fans in the NFL, has approximately 105,000 people. Wendy Ng/FLICKRīefore you scoff-oh, too late?-think about the possibilities. Louis, the origin point of the Lewis and Clark expedition, had relocated to the town where Captain William Clark once etched his name (on a slab at Pompeys Pillar)?Ī scenic view of the bustling metropolis that is Billings, Montana. But what if they had decided to, for example, migrate to Montana? What if the Rams had moved to a state named after a four-time Super Bowl–winning quarterback? What if the team now fleeing St. In other words, it could have been drawn up by 90 percent of the league's offensive coordinators. While it makes fiscal sense for a monolith like the NFL to have a team in Los Angeles, the country's second-largest metropolitan area, the move is uninspired and conservative. Angelenos mostly greeted the news with a "Cool, bro," and returned to tracking their daily fantasy lineups. The news did not cause traffic to stop in Los Angeles-and not just because that's already the default mode on its freeways. Louis Rams, announced that the franchise would be returning to southern California after a 21-year absence. Last Tuesday, Stan Kroenke, who owns the St.
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