Chiefs aren't ready to poach Rams fanbase...yet

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...-move-in-on-the-jilted-fanbase-next-door-yet/

Chiefs aren’t ready to move in on the jilted fanbase next door — yet
Posted by Darin Gantt on March 25, 2016

Getty Images

The Chiefs seem perfectly willing to hit on the saucy divorcee down the street. But they want to give it enough time so they’re not so blatantly the rebound guy.

With the Rams packing up and heading to Los Angeles, Chiefs officials know there’s a half of Missouri without an NFL allegiance now, and admit they’ll probably eventually try to win them over. But maybe not just yet.

“We’re going to be very cautious, we’re going to be very respectful,”Chiefs president Mark Donovan said, via Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star. “They’ve been through a process, and their fans, they’ve been through a lot. We’re gonna be very cautious, we’re going to be patient. We are going to take opportunities as they come.”

Of course, Donovan isn’t going to lie, having that empty blue swath of what used to be a fanbase just sitting there isn’t something they’re going to ignore.

“It expands our reach, it activates another market of potential fans, potential marketing partners,” Donovan said. “It’s a big market that’s nearby, so you want to active there if it makes sense to be there.”

Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said at the Super Bowl they didn’t have “any specific plans to go market in St. Louis,” but that was again very conditional based on the timing of the move.

They’re also worried about the possibility of residual anger in St. Louis, since Hunt was the only member of the L.A. committee who initially backed the Rams-Inglewood project, betting on the right horse when it was time for the full membership to vote. But Hunt said his preference was for the Rams to stay in St. Louis.

“I was in disagreement with the rest of the committee because I felt that the league would be better served by less relocation, because it’s less disruptive for the fanbases,” Hunt said. “I had hoped that there would be an outcome that possibly one of the California teams would end up moving to LA, because it was clear to me that somebody was going to move to LA — the league had been trying to do it for 20 years — and there was momentum for it.

“But I wasn’t in favorite of two teams moving. I certainly hoped that the Rams were gonna stay in St. Louis, but that’s not the way it turned out.”

And, you know, if they eventually want to come over and have a drink some time, that’ll be OK too.

 

[den-the-coach]

 

[Zaphod]

Sheesh, that ship sailed. Or in keeping with that analogy, for a lot of St. Louisans the Chefs are already an ex in their own way.

Maybe more like an ex-girlfriend than an ex-wife. I can't say that I was ever that dedicated a Chiefs fan.

 

[den-the-coach]

There is irony here for me because being born in 1966 I rooted for both the Rams and the Chiefs when I was five and six (football was huge in my family and still is) loved the red pants the Chiefs donned as a youngster, however, in 73 my father made me commit to one team and the first game of that year was the Rams vs Chiefs....I stated who ever won that game would be my team and Rams won their first game under Chuck Knox 23-13 over Hank Stram and the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City so I have been here since Hadl.

 

[DaveFan'51]

I've made this comment before, and I'm not trying to be unfeeling or unsympathetic But ..

 

[BonifayRam]

Is KC really sure there's enough to make it worth their cost & effort?

From watching the St Louis Home games over the last decade.... I have seen as very little evidence that there are many left. The evidence was in the half or less than half full dome plus seeing a large amount of seats occupying opponents team dress. I been living in Florida & since the move in 1995, I have never has the great opportunity to meet another St Louis Rams fan face to face. My vehicle was an easy ID as a Ram fan too.....(other than in here on Rams On Demand). However before the team moved I ran into a ton of Los Angeles Rams fans. But it should be said here that my pass on throughs of the St-Louis area have not been many so I am not coming from actual in the area knowledge but from away in the deep south and on NFL Ticket.

 

[Zaphod]

Is KC really sure there's enough to make it worth their cost & effort?

From watching the St Louis Home games over the last decade.... I have seen as very little evidence that there are many left. The evidence was in the half or less than half full dome plus seeing a large amount of seats occupying opponents team dress. I been living in Florida & since the move in 1995, I have never has the great opportunity to meet another St Louis Rams fan face to face. My vehicle was an easy ID as a Ram fan too.....(other than in here on Rams On Demand). However before the team moved I ran into a ton of Los Angeles Rams fans. But it should be said here that my pass on throughs of the St-Louis area have not been many so I am not coming from actual in the area knowledge but from away in the deep south and on NFL Ticket.

It's like I said, there are certainly enough ex-Cardinals fans who became Chiefs fans when they left. So it's not the first time they'll be exploiting that opportunity, and from a St. Louis fan's perspective, we've already been there with that team, and the Marty Shottenheimer years have left a certain taint on that.

If you really think about the years of mediocrity that the Chiefs have had, and how that sits with St. Louis fans not just with the NFL but with the Blues as well. And you consider the Super Bowl appearances by the St. Louis Rams, even with the crappy years, a lot of us would still rather continue following the Rams.

I just keep adding to this post. We still have the Cardinals, and that this is a "baseball town" has a lot to do with their success, and the ease with which a person can play the game and those who haven't can understand an analyze it the way everyone likes to do, you get the idea. They're the winning team.

The Blues are the mediocre team with a perpetual history of financial difficulty and a constant threat to relocate. The Rams were almost inevitable to everyone in that regard, and hardly a new story.

Of what remains of NFL fans in this city, quite a few of us already have a bad taste in our mouth over the Chiefs, some may go back to following them, but a majority of those remain NFL fans will likely remain Rams fans for quite a while (remember the Cardinals) or transition more to outsiders looking in, committing half heartedly to whatever team interests them, be it because of system, coach, player or even yes ... win/loss record.