Now that the NFL playoffs are underway, and the dozen teams that qualified for the postseason have embarked on the long road towards a possible Super Bowl championship, Angelinos are once more bemoaning the lack of a professional football team to root for.
However, despite the absence of a local area team in the annual tournament, there is at least one California team: the San Diego Chargers.
Not everyone knows that the Chargers began their lives in Los Angeles as the Los Angeles Chargers in 1960.
A year later they moved to San Diego, where they have been ever since.
The Chargers have won five out of the last six Western Division titles. However, a Super Bowl championship has proven elusive.
However, this season has been one of the best for San Diego in a long while, they finished with the longest winning streak in the league at 11 games, a 13-3 record, and finished atop a number of sports Web Sites’ “power rankings.”
Now that the team is having so much recent success, there are those who believe that the Chargers could be headed back to L.A. if and when the stadium they are planning on building in Industry finally becomes reality.
Also, more than ever, I have seen the familiar lightning bolt insignia of the Chargers on people’s cars and more and more people are wearing the team’s gear.
As a long time Chargers fan, I am here to say that the Chargers will never be fully accepted in L.A. Sadly, this is because there are too many Raiders fans still living here who would rather see the silver and black come down from their Oakland-based “black hole.”
What’s more, true football fans and faithful followers of the team should want the Chargers to stay put. For one, they have built a loyal fan base in that community and a tradition that does not exist here in the City of Angels.
Another reason is that L.A. football die-hards don’t have the love and passion that San Diego fans have shown for the team. They have proven so fickle that both their long time professional teams left town the same season San Diego went to their sole Super Bowl.
So go ahead and root for the Chargers in the Super Bowl L.A., pigskin maniacs. They represent California in the NFL playoffs, but always remember that the Chargers belong in San Diego.
Reach Ariel Carmona, Jr. at: sports@thepolypost.com
Be the first to comment on this article!