Chargers apparently moving to LA

[backshoulderfade]

Just seen sportscenter tweeting it.

 

BREAKING: The San Diego Chargers plan to announce as early as Thursday that they are moving to Los Angeles. https://t.co/RBxZwHZSWc https://t.co/Q02VAc9hFN

[Architects08]

What a bummer for San Diegans. 

[jvan1973]

9 minutes ago, SanDiegoColt8 said:

What a bummer for San Diegans. 

It's a two hour drive.   Also I'm guessing there are a bunch of chargers fans in LA already

[Derakynn]

Never like relocations. TV tatings in LA are already trash without there being 2 franchises there. 

[Girlzarefanstoo]

Empty describes how I feel. I don't even live in San Diego anymore. 

[Solon]

42 minutes ago, jvan1973 said:

It's a two hour drive.   Also I'm guessing there are a bunch of chargers fans in LA already

Yep. It won't even be a 2 hour drive. They're moving to Orange County. That's like a 45-60 minute drive up the 5 freeway.

[Girlzarefanstoo]

25% of fan base is LA.  San Diego fans are ticked off, many declaring that's it for them.  Who knows if that will really happen?

[AZColt11]

Until that 11th hour, last-minute, "OK we'll give you whatever you want, please don't go!" pitch.......stay tuned.  I'll believe it when I see it.  Same with the Rai-duhs.

[MTC]

 

it's official. 

 

I personally think its a good move for the franchise. 

[MPStack]

12 hours ago, Girlzarefanstoo said:

Empty describes how I feel. I don't even live in San Diego anymore. 

Will you remain a loyal Chargers fan? It happened to me growing up in Maryland and I`m still a diehard Colts fan.

[MTC]

 

 

 

[PeterBowman]

how long until LA has no football teams again?

[ColtsBlueFL]

Going to be hard saying Los Angeles Chargers...  ugh.

 

Maybe they re-brand the team in a few years, get new name and uni's, and San Diego gets is colors and name back.  Then later possible be a landing spot for a future NFL franchise.

 

But it shows that when a big, powerful entity tries leverage the public into pitching in, and they don't... it probably wasn't scheme to 'test the water'.  And these owner are billionaires, and have smart advisors too.  They can make any situation they want to create appear to be a better chouce for the NFL at large, so geeting fellow ownership support isn't usually all that hard, IME.

[BullsColtsFan1]

12 hours ago, Girlzarefanstoo said:

Empty describes how I feel. I don't even live in San Diego anymore. 

I was going to ask you what you thought about this?  I figured you wouldn't be happy.  I thought Phillip Rivers didn't want to sign back if the team was going to move to L.A.?  Hopefully he wasn't told they weren't going to move.  Kind of stinks when a franchise has been in one place for 50+ years then relocates.  It still doesn't seem right that the Seattle Supersonics haven't been in the NBA for going on 10 years now(a little bit different case but still along the same lines).  I think the Chargers will lose a lot of fans. 

[Girlzarefanstoo]

Woke up to a tweet from "my" LA Chargers.... yeah, I'll still be a fan.  I have been since 1970 when I was entering into jr hi.  Frankly, I'm glad whatever was going to happen has and it's time to move on. 

 

Rivers had made it clear he's a Charger and will go where the Chargers go.  He is building his home for after he retires, in San Diego, in Rancho Santa Fe.  Moving a family of 10 will not be easy - can you imagine all of the teacher conferences?! 

 

For me, it will probably help me get their games without having to pay for nfl sunday ticket.  I am sad that I never ever got to go to a game at the stadium.  My first husband was a Vietnam vet with PTSD and didn't do crowds, then after he passed away of Melanoma skin cancer, I was fighting for my economic life.  When I remarried, we moved out of town and tried to make a trip down a couple of times but life kept intruding.  Oh well....

 

After all, it is just a game-ish...

[Chrisaaron1023]

Anybody else wanna leave for LA.. Let's have the whole NFL just move to California

[mahagga73]

They don't even care about the Rams. If the teams not winning it has to be the worst place in the league to play. The Rams and Raiders both left after hitting a bad stretch. 

[mahagga73]

20 minutes ago, Chrisaaron1023 said:

Anybody else wanna leave for LA.. Let's have the whole NFL just move to California

The NFL has been using LA to extort free stadiums and more money for years. This is simply the endgame of that. Might be a lot harder for some billionaire owners unhappy with their current situation from now on. 

[Architects08]

16 hours ago, jvan1973 said:

It's a two hour drive.   Also I'm guessing there are a bunch of chargers fans in LA already

I'm sure there are some fans, but the majority of people in LA are Raiders/SF/Rams fans. LA doesn't want the Chargers.

 

It's a bummer for the many loyal SD fans here in SD. Driving to LA (or OC) is still a pain in the butt. LA Chargers are doomed.

[Qwiz]

Well at least Philip Rivers can make watching an LA team at least a little bit exciting. I can't believe they've gotten two teams so quickly. Who would've thought. 

[Clem-Dog]

1 hour ago, mahagga73 said:

The NFL has been using LA to extort free stadiums and more money for years. This is simply the endgame of that. Might be a lot harder for some billionaire owners unhappy with their current situation from now on. 

 

You're absolutely correct.  Before LOS was a concept Indy fans endured this same threat on an annual basis.

 

  

[Thewholefnshow28]

1 hour ago, mahagga73 said:

The NFL has been using LA to extort free stadiums and more money for years. This is simply the endgame of that. Might be a lot harder for some billionaire owners unhappy with their current situation from now on. 

 

Good I hope it becomes harder and harder for these teams to build massive stadiums on tax payer dime. I wish more and more cities would say enough is enough.  

 

I am still shocked that the NFL owners agreed to move the Rams in the first place.  LA was always their golden goose that was always used to hold local cities hostage to spend way to much on stadiums.  Now they really do not have that one city that it is reasonable to try and move too.  Sure Las Vegas is there, but there are a lot of issues with that and it is not as easy to sell as LA is.  

 

Sucks for the local fans in San Diego.  I do not think I would stay a Colts fan if they moved from Indy.

[jvan1973]

8 minutes ago, Thewholefnshow28 said:

 

Good I hope it becomes harder and harder for these teams to build massive stadiums on tax payer dime. I wish more and more cities would say enough is enough.  

 

I am still shocked that the NFL owners agreed to move the Rams in the first place.  LA was always their golden goose that was always used to hold local cities hostage to spend way to much on stadiums.  Now they really do not have that one city that it is reasonable to try and move too.  Sure Las Vegas is there, but there are a lot of issues with that and it is not as easy to sell as LA is.  

 

Sucks for the local fans in San Diego.  I do not think I would stay a Colts fan if they moved from Indy.

If they moved from Indy to fort Wayne?  It's not like the chargers are moving thousands of miles away

[RollerColt]

Two franchises in LA at the same time. Hasn't happened since what? 1994? 

[mahagga73]

2 hours ago, jvan1973 said:

If they moved from Indy to fort Wayne?  It's not like the chargers are moving thousands of miles away

True. It's not that far. I'm guessing Giants, Jets, and Niner fans have to make a nice little trip to see their teams. 

[mahagga73]

2 hours ago, RollerColt said:

Two franchises in LA at the same time. Hasn't happened since what? 1994? 

They have 2 teams in all 4 major sports in the area now. That's crazy. Plus I think 2 pro soccer teams and 2 major college programs. That's a lot of competition for the entertainment dollar. 

[shakedownstreet]

Man! If you told me a year ago the Chargers are moving to LA, I would have said "okay."

[GwinnettColt]

I hope they do well there but I see a problem.  It's very diverse and though the Chargers were there in 1961, the younger generations weren't around.  The Raiders, who are in also in the AFC West, have a large LA fanbase.  The Charger fans could be greatly outnumbered at their own home games.  Also, it may take a strengthen a fanbase.  

[mahagga73]

3 hours ago, Clem-Dog said:

 

You're absolutely correct.  Before LOS was a concept Indy fans endured this same threat on an annual basis.

 

  

There was the threat of two teams in Chicago for awhile under a retractable in the suburbs  before the city decided on a renovation of Soldier Field. I believe Irsay was in on that at least in an exploratory manner. LA was also another one that was explored I believe.  

[Synthetic]

 

Just wait till they play the Raiders. If they want to complain about being overrun by opposing fans, just wait... 100% home games for the Raiders now.

[Synthetic]

1 hour ago, GwinnettColt said:

I hope they do well there but I see a problem.  It's very diverse and though the Chargers were there in 1961, the younger generations weren't around.  The Raiders, who are in also in the AFC West, have a large LA fanbase.  The Charger fans could be greatly outnumbered at their own home games.  Also, it may take a strengthen a fanbase.  

 

 

They were only in LA for one year. I highly doubt this is going to strengthen their fan base. Winning championships is what makes fan bases grow. Just look at the number of bandwagon Dallas and Pittsburgh fans all across the nation. The Chargers have never won anything, which is just enough good reason for people in San Diego not to waste their money at their games to go see a bunch of losers. A lot of Chargers fans burning their memorabilia and calling the team losers, are completely justified. That's hard earned money, wasted on a crap team. 

 

This has nothing to do with the fans. The NFL owners are greedy rotten billionaires that strictly do not care about the fans whatsoever. This is a cash grab...It's an easy cash grab rather than a long term solution. 

 

The LA market was a disaster in the 90's for the NFL and it's going to be an even bigger disaster now with two garbage teams there. No one likes the Rams and no one likes the Chargers. Just greedy owners with money signs in their eyes, and enraged at cities who refused to fund new stadiums with tax payer money. 

[jvan1973]

22 minutes ago, Synthetic said:

 

 

They were only in LA for one year. I highly doubt this is going to strengthen their fan base. Winning championships is what makes fan bases grow. Just look at the number of bandwagon Dallas and Pittsburgh fans all across the nation. The Chargers have never won anything, which is just enough good reason for people in San Diego not to waste their money at their games to go see a bunch of losers. A lot of Chargers fans burning their memorabilia and calling the team losers, are completely justified. That's hard earned money, wasted on a crap team. 

 

This has nothing to do with the fans. The NFL owners are greedy rotten billionaires that strictly do not care about the fans whatsoever. This is a cash grab...It's an easy cash grab rather than a long term solution. 

 

The LA market was a disaster in the 90's for the NFL and it's going to be an even bigger disaster now with two garbage teams there. No one likes the Rams and no one likes the Chargers. Just greedy owners with money signs in their eyes, and enraged at cities who refused to fund new stadiums with tax payer money. 

You should move to a communist country if you hate capitalism so much

[Girlzarefanstoo]

The Chargers were trying to get this done for more than 10 years - the worst 10 years in recent financial memory in a city that had all kinds of political issues during the same time.  I remember when the Padres got their stadium before the Chargers (we were already out of town) and it made no sense to me then, makes less sense now.  The Chargers have had considerably more success than the Padres.

 

LA loves a winner - that's the only chance the Chargers have.  IF the team can turn it around next year it might be easier than thought.  The Rams are a mess and will take much longer to turn around. 

 

They still have the same issue of cold weather transplants in LA.  Not a lot of people move from San Diego to Pittsburg but a lot do the reverse.  And without a winning history to the Chargers, they bring their fan loyalty with them.  Ridiculous numbers of out of town people take their vacations and see their team out of town.  As Rivers' has been quoted, "It's downright embarrassing."

 

If you study the fan base reach circles around each team in the NFL, no team has a smaller piece of land to draw from than SD.  1/4 of a circle with the Ocean to the west, LA to the North, Mexico to the South and Phoenix with a resurgent NFL franchise to the East, there just isn't a large area to draw fans from.  Prior to the Cardinals, there were a lot of Charger fans in Arizona.  That's why the Chargers had to move seriously on LA as soon as Kroenke made moves toward LA.   

[Coltsman1788]

23 hours ago, Girlzarefanstoo said:

Empty describes how I feel. I don't even live in San Diego anymore. 

I'm very sorry.  I know what that feels like.  Old Baltimore Colts fan here.  If you love the team don't let a change in cities stop you.  Colts could move to Timbuktu and I'd still support them.  It's about the Shoe. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

10 minutes ago, Girlzarefanstoo said:

The Chargers were trying to get this done for more than 10 years - the worst 10 years in recent financial memory in a city that had all kinds of political issues during the same time.  I remember when the Padres got their stadium before the Chargers (we were already out of town) and it made no sense to me then, makes less sense now.  The Chargers have had considerably more success than the Padres.

 

LA loves a winner - that's the only chance the Chargers have.  IF the team can turn it around next year it might be easier than thought.  The Rams are a mess and will take much longer to turn around. 

 

They still have the same issue of cold weather transplants in LA.  Not a lot of people move from San Diego to Pittsburg but a lot do the reverse.  And without a winning history to the Chargers, they bring their fan loyalty with them.  Ridiculous numbers of out of town people take their vacations and see their team out of town.  As Rivers' has been quoted, "It's downright embarrassing."

 

If you study the fan base reach circles around each team in the NFL, no team has a smaller piece of land to draw from than SD.  1/4 of a circle with the Ocean to the west, LA to the North, Mexico to the South and Phoenix with a resurgent NFL franchise to the East, there just isn't a large area to draw fans from.  Prior to the Cardinals, there were a lot of Charger fans in Arizona.  That's why the Chargers had to move seriously on LA as soon as Kroenke made moves toward LA.   

Sorry for the news Girlz. You will still root for them though right? I feel bad for the fans and Phillip Rivers. Rivers has been a Good QB, if not Very Good his whole career but the way the organization has been ran he will probably never win a SB.

[ReMeDy]

I'm just a clueless football junkie, but I think this was an awful idea on so many levels. There will be several empty seats, win or lose.

[The Old Crow]

1 hour ago, Coltsman1788 said:

I'm very sorry.  I know what that feels like.  Old Baltimore Colts fan here.  If you love the team don't let a change in cities stop you.  Colts could move to Timbuktu and I'd still support them.  It's about the Shoe. 

 

I am on the opposite spectrum where I don't like franchise's moving, but understand business decisions. It's tough for fans because unlike the early days of the NFL when they had to move because they were losing money , these new moves are being done by owners whose teams are making money, but want even more. Some put a bad product on the field , but still the fans have to pay. 

I couldn't follow the Colts out of Baltimore because I had no connections to Indiana. Although it was the same uniforms and logos, it just wasn't the hometown team. 

On a similar note when the NBA Baltimore Bullets moved to D.C., and became the Capitol Bullets, and later the Washington Bullets/Wizards, I never really followed them even though they were close in

proximity like San Diego/ LA. 

All I know if you are on the butt end of a franchise move, it just stinks. If you get a team, you're obviously happy you are in the NFL. I hated losing the Colts, but was never proud of how we got the Browns. I really wanted an expansion team, but Taglibue and Jack Kent Cooke of the Redskins conspired against us. 

Bottom line, I feel bad for St Louis and San Diego fans. 

[oldunclemark]

....so if San Diego agrees to bud a stadium in 2018..

,,and the Chargers are still in the soccer stadium.

..can they move back to San Diego?

[The Old Crow]

I was just thinking the two teams Johnny Unitas played for both moved to different cities. He always looked out of place in that powder blue uniform ! 

[gacoop1]

Greedy owner.