The San Diego Super Chargers and Los Angeles

It’s official. The Chargers have decided to pack up and head out to Los Angeles after 56 years of staying in San Diego. From 1961 to 2016, the Chargers are something that the people of San Diego could be proud of. Throughout their stay in the southernmost part of California, the team has had quite a history. After moving to the sunny beaches of San Diego from their one-year home of Los Angeles in 1961, the Chargers have had plenty of great seasons. Even though they have only had one championship (AFL, 1963) and one Super Bowl appearance (Super Bowl XXIX), they have always been a fun team to watch. Starting during their dominating performances in the early days of the AFL, to the Dan Fouts era, to LaDainian Tomlinson, the San Diego crowd has been there for the storied history of this franchise. The Chargers really made a name for themselves in the beautiful weather surrounding Qualcomm Stadium (built in 1967) and truly found a home after their move for the 1961 season.

Even though the Chargers have always been established in San Diego, they originally got their start in Los Angeles, during the first days of the American Football League (AFL). The AFL became a direct competitor with the historic and established NFL, which was an extremely difficult thing to compete with. The cities chosen to be the homes for these new AFL teams were strategically chosen due to their market sizes and overall football fandom. This worked for all but two teams. The Dallas Texans were the only team in Dallas until a week after the AFL announcement when the Cowboys franchise started. The Texans were forced to move out after a few years due to the competition with the NFL and relocated to Kansas City; they became the Chiefs and have stayed there ever since. The Chargers originated in Los Angeles, under the ownership of Barron Hilton, the hotel owner. Hilton was used to big markets, but soon realized that the Chargers could not come close to competing with the already established Rams of the NFL. The Rams had a home they called theirs and the city wasn’t big enough to support a second team in a league that was seen as inferior at the time. For the Bolts second season, they moved to San Diego. Since then, the Chargers have created a bond with the city and its fans. Although, the die-hard fans are some of the best fans in sports, it seems as though their support wasn’t enough.

The Chargers have had loyal fans throughout their history, but during the past few years, their crowds have been thinning quite a bit. San Diego’s population has been unable to support the team and their efforts to build a new stadium. Despite the fact that Qualcomm Stadium has served the team well since the late 60’s, it is simply not up to par with the other NFL stadiums of today’s day and age. Between this and the fact that their home crowds have been thinning the past few seasons, it isn’t a good look for the franchise. Even this season, during week 15 of the regular season, it seemed apparent that the general populace of the city didn’t really care about the team. When the Raiders came to town, Qualcomm Stadium filled up with fans, Raider fans. Whenever the camera panned out to the crowd, there was a serious lack of blue and a huge abundance of black and silver. At this point, many people around the country realized that the Chargers were no longer wanted in their home. It is always a sad day for fans when their team leaves town. St. Louis was robbed of their Rams last year. Now it’s the Chargers and most likely, we will see the Raiders moving to Vegas in the coming weeks. Although it is sad for the fans, sometimes a relocation like this is good from a business standpoint.

First of all, Los Angeles is the second largest market in the United States. Even though the Rams are already there and a large amount of people bought into them before the start of this past season, most of those fans were utterly disappointed. The Rams haven’t done anything to earn their fans in Los Angeles yet. When the Chargers come to town, there will be space for a team and organization that have shown throughout this season that they will most likely have a better future in a shorter span of time than the Rams do. If the Chargers were planning on moving from San Diego, now would be the perfect time. Los Angeles is a vulnerable market with a team that has disappointed their fans. With a new team moving in with a leader like Philip Rivers, the Chargers should do well in LA. This move will certainly get the team back on track, which will be good for business. While I think that the Chargers move to LA will be great for the team financially, I feel as though Los Angeles will never be their true home. The Chargers belong in San Diego, as it is where they have almost all of their history and have developed their identity as a franchise. It’s unfortunate, but it simply had to happen for the team to survive. Maybe the Chargers will return at some point down the road. But for now, all we can do is take a look at the accomplishments of the Chargers while in their true home in the beautiful city of San Diego. 1 AFL Championship (1963), 1 Conference Championship (1994), 14 Division Championships (1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009). Appearing in the playoffs 17 times while in San Diego, the team truly did have a home. Now a new Los Angeles chapter begins, starting at Stubhub Stadium on September 10, 2017.

 
Written by Rick Wronski