After being without a football team since 1994, it appears as if Los Angeles finally will have its prayers answered. Multiple sources close to Miami Sharks owner Christina Pagniacci confirmed to LBS exclusively that the third-year owner plans to move her team to Los Angeles after the season.
Pagniacci, who inherited the Sharks from her late father Arturo, has been at odds with Coach Tony D’Amato all season. D’Amato is said to be frustrated with Pagniacci’s interference with his coaching styles. We reported earlier in the season that the mercurial general manager was considering firing D’Amato and promoting offensive coordinator Nick Crozier to take his position, as Pagniacci favors his new-age statistical approach to the game.
Why Los Angeles?
Pagniacci believes the team stands to gain more revenue, popularity, and notoriety playing in the larger media market. The team’s contract with the city of Miami is concrete, but the Cornell business school graduate has been working behind the scenes all season on exploiting loopholes that would allow the team to move.
The franchise’s departure would no doubt serve as a shock to the city and league, and would be met with great opposition. The Sharks have been entrenched in Miami for 32 years and have been one of the most successful teams in the league. Do not expect to see the team leave the city without a fight from the league and state of Florida. Stay tuned for future developments …
This post is a part of the Friday Film Festival at Larry Brown Sports. All contents of the story are purely fictional and based entirely off the sports movie, Any Given Sunday. To learn more about the movie, go here
