Would you Support the SoCal Chargers?

It comes as no surprise that the San Diego Chargers once again dropped the ball when it came to doing the right thing.

The Chargers’ owner is a douche bag. We all know that. There is no debating that fact.

There is no “family” feeling among Chargers fans and players, and the all-mighty dollar has always ruled since the Spanos family took over the team in 1984. Countless players were ushered out of the city in the twilight of their careers, and what is even worse, the team refused to give them their deserved praise on the way out.

Rodney Harrison, Junior Seau, Eric Weddle, and LaDainian Tomlinson were all allowed to play for other teams simply because the Chargers have no sense of doing what is right. There is a common theme when speaking about the Chargers’ organization. Their inability to act with class and dignity in even the simplest of moves is always discussed. But it’s not just the disloyalty they display to their fan base and players; it’s the fact that they operate as though they are a minor league franchise continually, without any remorse at all.

The debacle that was created by the unveiling of their new logo was an absolute joke.

Did they honestly believe those first couple of attempts at a new logo were going to go over well? The abuse the team took for the design (or lack of) was well deserved, and it really amazes me that this team can continue to make horrible move after horrible move.

The fact that longtime coach John Pagano was made aware of his firing via Twitter, or informing players of the move to LA via social media, is asinine. How can you treat players and coaches like that? How can you continually burn bridges? There will be nowhere left to go. Then again, we are talking to the Spanos family, the same group that refused to talk with any of the local media candidly, but on the first day of the move was up in L.A. at a Kings game talking to everyone that would listen. What a snake in the grass.

Making dumb decisions has always been a Chargers thing. Most recently, the team elected to hire Mike McCoy over Bruce Arians, and stayed with McCoy well after it was clear he was in over his head as a head coach and motivator. This came after the team fired one of its most influential coaches, Marty Schottenheimer, and replaced him with Norv Turner, who also wore out his welcome in San Diego.

Eli Manning refused to play in San Diego because his dad, Archie Manning, warned him of the ownership group. Boy, was he right. I have slightly less hatred for Eli Manning and his father now, and that is a bad thing for San Diego. This Chargers fiasco hurts and the pain isn’t going to subside anytime soon.

But did the pain have to be so dramatic, I ask you? Did the Spanos family have to take our beloved football team and relocate them to, of all places, Los Angeles? If you are like me, you DO NOT root for anything Los Angeles related (that includes the Lakers, Kings, Ducks, Clippers, Galaxy, USC, UCLA, etc.). That is just how I was brought up being a native of the city, and who am I to change that?

The Chargers are now taking the name of the city they reside in, but if they called themselves the Southern California Chargers or the SoCal Chargers, would that make the transition any easier for you? Would you consider sticking with them?

Why did the Chargers not consider this?

They would not alienate the whole fan base with a Los Angeles name, and at the same time they leave themselves open to that market as well. It is no secret that the L.A. area fans did not want the Chargers. The majority of the city couldn’t care less about the team and they are somewhere between 12-16th in the pecking order of L.A. sports teams. That in itself makes Spanos either an absolute moron, or the most optimistic business man in the world. If he thinks the team will be able to pull in fans quickly, then he has another thing coming. It will take years of success from the Chargers team for the fans of the city to even show any interest at all.

So I ask you. Would you keep your allegiance to the team if they re-branded under the name SoCal Chargers? Or are they dead to you completely and it does not matter what name they play under?

James Clark

James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.