Los Angeles is overpopulated by professional sports teams

Los Angeles is swarmed with various professional sports teams — from the Rams and the Chargers to the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers — creating a unique fan culture in the populous Southern California city. Wiki Commons

Even an avid sports fan will have a difficult time trying to list off the many professional teams based in Los Angeles. As one of the nation’s largest cities — surrounded by a sprawling metropolis of counties — it makes sense for there to be a lot of teams. The question is: are there people that care to support the ‘less popular’ teams?

“It’s no question that fans love a winning team,” said Ben Ziv, a senior business administration major. “This is why we see weaker fan bases with teams who have a history of struggling.”

Analyzing Super Bowl LVI viewership, it comes as no surprise that Cincinnati had the highest number of viewers watching the game’s Feb. 13 broadcast. Despite having a team in the game, Los Angeles viewership was superseded by St. Louis — the former home of the now Los Angeles Rams. 

While this year’s broadcast saw over 101.1 million streamers on NBC and Telemundo combined — the most-watched television show in the last five years  —  Los Angeles didn’t even make NBC’s list of the top 10 regions to tune in for the television event. 

When most people think of LA sports, they often think of the Lakers and Dodgers as the defining teams in the area. Students like California-native Evelyn Taylor, a sophomore business administration major, spent their childhoods frequenting Dodger Stadium. 

“Growing up in Southern California allowed (for my family) to attend many games and my dad never passed up an opportunity to sit by third base, have a Dodger dog and listen to Vin Scully calling the game,” Taylor wrote in an email to The Panther. "The Dodgers are an essential part of who we are as a family.” 

It is a trend among many Dodgers fans to share their devotion with their families, and with that comes a unique dedication to the successful and established baseball team. 

Basketball is no different, with the Lakers being a popular team for Southern California-based fans.

“I think this (special fan base) is due to the fact that they’ve been around for so long, growing with the city of LA, they have one of the most successful histories, and they’ve had some of the all-time greats — like Kobe, Lebron, Shaq, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,” Ziv said.

Although Ziv is a long-time Clippers fan, he agreed that the Lakers have the strongest fan base out of all the LA teams, and as a result, the Clippers seem to come second to the purple and gold.

“The Clippers have proved they are on the verge of breaking out of the Lakers’ shadow,” Ziv said.

LA fans support their most beloved teams, which has created an attractive place for professional athletes to come play. Ziv pointed out that the city is comparable to top fan bases like in Boston and New York who have many die hard fans no matter the sport. 

“There is no fan culture in LA sports,” said senior business administration major Owen McNicholas.

McNicholas, a San Jose Sharks and Golden State Warriors fan, argued the Bay Area has a better fan base than LA. This could be because the area has one team for each sport now after the Raiders made their move to Las Vegas, with the exception of two MLB teams: the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics. 

While it is easy to see Angelenos get in the spirit to support high performing teams like the Lakers, Dodgers and Rams, Taylor said there are still many professional teams that would get the recognition and fans they deserve in another city.  

The Rams called LA home until they moved to St. Louis in 1995, and now that they have been back for six seasons and have the momentum of a Super Bowl title, the chance for the Chargers to gain a solid fan base in Los Angeles will be even harder than before. 

Many fans of the Chargers — who were previously based in San Diego — were sad to see their team go after being a part of their community for 55 years, so it could be beneficial for both of LA’s football franchises if the Chargers moved back down.

There may be a divide among Chapman students between which LA team has the best fanatic following — if any. Bottomline is, the city has no shortage of professional teams. Instead, the community can focus on building the image and culture of those already there.