Who Needs Football When There’s Soccer?

Jose Arroyo misses the $7-an-hour part-time job and the seven hours he could count on each Sunday parking cars for fans who came to watch the Raiders play in the Coliseum.

But it’s not as if Mexico’s America, Arroyo’s favorite soccer team, had abandoned him.

“To me, soccer is more exciting than football,” Arroyo said. “They play for 45 minutes without stopping; it’s not like, let’s take a rest between every play. I’ve seen America play in Estadio Azteca [in Mexico City] many times, but I never got the chance to watch the Raiders. Too expensive.”

Five Star Parking had more than 8,000 parking spots to manage at the Coliseum with approximately 5,000 made available to the public. While it cost the public $9 to park, Five Star received only a small percentage of that money while the remainder went for the improvement of Exposition Park adjacent to the Coliseum.

Arroyo, whose full-time job now is parking cars daily at the California Museum of Science and Industry, said he will continue to search for a part-time job to make up for the hours he has lost with the Raiders’ move back to Oakland.

Arroyo always wanted to see the Dallas Cowboys, and three years ago they came to the Coliseum. But Arroyo was busy parking cars.

“I did get the chance to go into the Coliseum,” Arroyo said. “This summer. For a soccer game. Mexico beat El Salvador, 3-1. It was great.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

L.A. Benched / Week 4

* It was 83 degrees at 1 p.m. in Los Angeles Sunday, 0% chance of precipitation and 0% chance of professional football.

* The St. Louis Rams are 4-0; 17 years ago Sunday the Los Angeles Rams improved their record to 4-0 with running back Cullen Bryant scoring from three yards out in a 10-6 victory over Houston.

* Believe it: The New Orleans Saints, directed by former Ram quarterback Jim Everett, are 0-4 for the first time since 1980.

* One hundred and fifty eight commercials surrounded the 127 points scored in the two NFL games shown locally on Channel 11 Sunday.

* Forget the Raiders, how about a ticket to El Estadio Azteca? Story, C4.