…the XFL and LA KISS excepted. At at time when speculation surrounding a possible Chargers, Raiders or Rams relocation to Los Angeles runs rampant, Glenn Arthur Pierce, author of “Naming Rites: A Biographical History of North American Team Names”, takes us back to a prior decade in which “The Simpsons” alluded to LA’s strange role a massive city/media capital sans an NFL franchise.
In 2006, Springfield beat out Los Angeles’s bid to get the Meltdowns. That alludes to another argument … that the NFL keeps L.A. empty as a way of strong-arming smaller media markets into making huge concessions to keep their team.
The Meltdowns were slated to play at Duff Beer Krusty Burger Buzz Cola Costington’s Department Store Kwik-E-Mart Stupid Flanders Park, which mocks the absurdity of stadium-naming rights (as did Springfield’s Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific Arena, Buzz Cola Dome, Yahoo Search Engine Arena, and—our fav—an arena where the marquee reads “Naming Rights Available.”