On January 15, 1995, I stood on my feet in Qualcomm Stadium with about 70,000 other fans to greet our San Diego Chargers after their electrifying AFC Championship victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was an awesome experience. Fans were chanting, cheering, and singing as highlights of the season were shown on the Jumbotron. When the team's plane arrived at the airport, a camera crew was waiting for them, and filmed their drive from the airport to the stadium. The team was told their were fans waiting for them, but they had no idea just how many. When they walked into the stadium and onto the field? Incredible. The fans went nuts. The players teared up. Many of the players took turns speaking to the crowd: Stan Humphries, John Carney, Dennis Gibson, Junior. Replays of the "Immaculate Deflection" at the end of the game were played over and over. We all sang along with the "San Diego Super Chargers" theme song. And they were super. Oh yes.
Almost exactly 22 years later, I am sitting at my desk, trying to wrap my head around the news that the San Diego Chargers are no more. In less than an hour, Dean Spanos is supposed to hold a staff meeting with the Chargers employees to deliver the news that the Chargers franchise is moving to Los Angeles. After 56 years in San Diego, the Chargers are leaving.
I was not born in San Diego, but after an early childhood of moves every two years or so, I came to call San Diego my home in 1983 at the age of 8. We moved in early fall, just in time for football season. The Chargers (and the Padres) became my team, just as San Diego became my hometown. I lived in San Diego full time until I graduated from high school and still called San Diego home while I was in college. I moved away for good in 1998, but I still had family in town, so I came home for holidays. And I watched my Chargers.
My mom passed away in 2007, and my dad moved from San Diego the following year. My brother remained with ties in the area until a few years ago. Finally, he too moved to other places. The only remaining connections I have to San Diego are some friends who still live there and many memories. And, of course, the Padres and Chargers.
We've been through some good times with our sports teams, and, unfortunately, we've been through some very low times as well. But I've remained a Padres fan, and, until this most recent news, a Chargers fan.
Here's the thing. I understand that Spanos is a business owner, and that the NFL is a business. His goal isn't just to facilitate a love for the game; his goal is to make a profit. I can't fault him for that, and I can certainly see how a team like the Chargers, with it near-success seasons and dismal disappointments, could drain away his enthusiasm. I know that as ticket prices have risen and the team's performance has failed to rise with it, fans have stayed away from the stadium, choosing instead to watch or listen to games at home rather than pay heavy prices for tickets, food, and drinks. Yet even as overall enthusiasm seemed to sink lower and lower, I still heard fans say, "There's always next season." When the move to Los Angeles was proposed and the drama began to unfold, fans still said, "There's always next season" and "Maybe Spanos will keep the team here." We were granted what felt like a reprieve this season, with the team remaining in San Diego. Their performance was still disappointing, but I still heard "There's always next season."
And suddenly, there is no next season. Oh, sure, the franchise survives, but it's different. I guess what I'm realizing is, while I've always said, "I'm a Chargers fan," I was really saying, "I'm a SAN DIEGO Chargers fan." The Chargers were a part of the community that I called my home town. Now that they are moving, I've lost that connection to them, and to the city that I love.
Not only that, but Spanos is moving them to Los Angeles, the biggest rival city we have. San Diego has always prided itself on NOT being LA. Less pollution, fewer crowds, better beaches, and a way better attitude. I think Spanos has seriously underestimated San Diegans' dislike for all things LA. It may sound bitter or spiteful or petty, but I truly believe a majority of San Diego Chargers fans will not support the team anymore, because of the LA tacked onto the front (and because Spanos has become the enemy).
I blame Spanos, for putting money (that I think he's seriously miscalculated) ahead of history, loyalty, and civic pride. I blame the city for not putting up as much of a fight as they could.
I do not blame the players. As much as I wish they would have performed better over the years, I think players like Rivers have always loved the city as much as I do, and I think most of them will be heartbroken to pack their things this offseason and relocate. While they are playing for the same team next year, they won't be playing for the same fans, and these are guys who make a living because of the fans. They know us, and we know them.
There are a few things I hope for. I hope the players find success, because we truly love them. I hope the team is rebranded so that perhaps someday soon a new franchise or another franchise can come to San Diego and revitalize the San Diego Chargers fan base. I hope that the city can come up with a plan to better support their sports teams so that something like this doesn't happen again. And I hope that Dean Spanos realizes the terrible mistake he has made.
I will always root for my former San Diego players, just as I have
continued to cheer for the success of Bolts like Drew Brees and Darren
Sproles. Once a San Diego Charger, always a San Diego Charger. But my
time rooting for the team itself, just like the team's time in San
Diego, is over. I have no connection with the Los Angeles Chargers. Not
my home town, not my team, not anymore.
