CHARGERS MOVING TO LA

[MakoShark]

Vina, would you care to guess how many "worldwide" fans there are, as compared to other teams? The point is that the Chargers are not as popular as other teams, and by quite a bit. Maybe they are more popular than Jacksonville, but I struggle to think of any other fan base. In San Diego, yes the majority of the NFL fans are/were Charger fans, but you see lots of other fans, probably more so than any other NFL city. There will be a growth in the fan base in LA, but my guess it will take decades to recover their overall fan base, unless they win Super Bowls. They will be playing 16 'away' games for years.

Hell, the Jags have been adopted by Britain in a "lovable Cubs" kinda way, so they have a better international following than the Bolts. Vina lives in some fantasy world.

[homeless simpson]

they won't throw fans away and start from scratch. It's as simple as that.

Ahah ahaha

[sandiego17]

Decision was made a long time ago, pending a saving move by some angel. The NFL granted the extension to avoid the distraction of a moving team from their playoff games, but Spanos thought it more important to move it forward and make it distracting.

Sadly, boldest move he's made in decades. The man who hired Norv Turner is now spiting fellow owners.

[vinabolt]

Hey San Diegans we are with you. We understand you. We non-san diegans spend our money in the team as well. We are not a tiny bunch.

And I do have something else to say and I'm going to say this once... not a lot of San Diegans showed up in the stadium the 8 games they played in Q this year. I know... blame it on De-ano. And I agree with that as well.

So give respect to us out of towners as well. We also spend money on the team.

Yep, that what was bug me. Some local SD fans acted like we're nothing, lol. It's kind of disrespect view. I and many still would like to have the Chargers to root for. And I believe even fans from SD would want that, especially those 47% who voted Yes on the stadium.

And by worldwide fans I mean that fans from outside of SD, from the rest of the world, including the US.

[6025]

Lol, fans are burning the Charger flag at the fortress.

[TheDeafBolt]

Yep, that what was bug me. Some local SD fans acted like we're nothing, lol. It's kind of disrespect view. I and many still would like to have the Chargers to root for. And I believe even fans from SD would want that, especially those 47% who voted Yes on the stadium.

And by worldwide fans I mean that fans from outside of SD, from the rest of the world, including the US.

You are way off if you think a significant % of those who voted Yes on C will be rooting for the Chargers, or want any team that is not a San Diego team to carry the Chargers name, brand, logo, or Rivers himself. You are also way off if you think any of us give a shit about your feelings on this and your desire to have the exact same team/brand in a region we San Diegans generally hate, with all due respect.

[6025]

Falconer is live now.

[Bolt-O]

"San Diego wins by losing"

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/nancy-armour/2017/01/12/san-diego-chargers-los-angeles-relocate/96493552/

The people of San Diego won by losing.

Chargers owner Dean Spanos did the corporate equivalent of taking his ball and going home Thursday, bolting for Los Angeles because San Diego residents had balked at building his team a fancy new stadium. Imagine the nerve of those people! Refusing to spend millions for a stadium that, studies have shown, would likely end up costing taxpayers more than what is originally estimated while providing less in return.

For a team owned by a family whose net worth was $2.4 billion as of Thursday, according to Forbes, no less. Yes, billion. With a B.

The Chargers’ fans not already turned off by Spanos’ greed and mercenary tactics were livid Thursday, tossing jerseys at the front of the team’s headquarters and venting on social media. And rightly so. This was a team they supported for 56 years, through the occasional good but, more often, bad years.

“It will always be part of our identity, and my family and I have nothing but gratitude and appreciation for the support and passion our fans have shared with us over the years,” Dean Spanos wrote in a letter announcing the move.

Notice he didn’t say anything about loyalty.

The one thing that has become clear in all of these money grabs – and stay strong, Oakland, because you’re next – is that teams really don’t give a damn about their fans. Oh, they care about fans buying their tickets and merchandise and blindly writing checks when they want a new Taj Mahal.

But beyond that? Please. If the fans won’t give team owners everything they want, they’ll just pack up like Spanos did. There always seems to be some suckers in another town so blinded by the prospect of having a professional franchise that they don’t read the fine print.

That’s not being part of the fabric of a community. That’s black mail.

San Diego fans might be disappointed to see their team pack up and move. But it’s better than being fleeced.

[sandiego17]

But smart businesses are going to to whatever they can to keep their fan base and support, retain whoever still support the team. And rebrand means that there would be no longer the any team to support.

You can change your allegiance or become haters if you want. But we, SD fans or outside, will still support the team, the Chargers.

You realize you wrote this on a day the team abandoned by far their largest fan base to move to a city where the biggest newspaper is running articles telling the team we don't want you? A rebrand does not mean they would no longer have a team to support, it would mean people hesitant to support the shit the Chargers stand for would have a chance to support something shiny and new.

Deep down you realize this a joke of a franchise and they don't have global following. Its ok, I loved this team too, despite their ineptitude. But it is what it is, shit.

[MakoShark]

Vina,

Have you even considered that "worldwide" Charger fans are actually San Diego transplants? The reason those people root for the team is because it reminds them of where they came from. It reminds them of their home town and brings back memories of where they grew up. With the team moving to LA that connection is lost. This "worldwide" Chargers fan base is not just a Chargers fan base. It's a SAN DIEGO Chargers fan base. You have not considered this scenario and the fact is that the percentage of "worldwide" fans that will ditch the team will probably be equal to or more than the locals.

[TABF]

CHARGERS MOVING TO LA

Hey San Diegans we are with you. We understand you. We non-san diegans spend our money in the team as well. We are not a tiny bunch.

And I do have something else to say and I'm going to say this once... not a lot of San Diegans showed up in the stadium the 8 games they played in Q this year. I know... blame it on De-ano. And I agree with that as well.

So give respect to us out of towners as well. We also spend money on the team.

I was at 8 of the 10 home games this year. I have also been a season ticket holder for about 25 years. my weekends are generally scheduled around the charger schedule.

I also have respect for devout fans regardless of where you hang your hat... however and as I explained many times over... for me it's all about the soil. San Diego sports teams have been beat up by LA sports teams my entire life and I am not young. I would be nowhere near this upset if the team would have moved to Yuma, Vegas, Des Moines, Charleston, Fargo etc.

Moving a team away from fans who put up with so much mediocrity is hard enough, but doing that and moving to your arch rival, enemy, (insert cool word here) is a kick in the nuts!

Again I support any San Diego Chargers fan from wherever you are from but if your allegiance is not tied to the city, and you didn't grow up in San Diego then you may not realize the disdain we are born with as it relates to Los Angeles. Thats okay btw!





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[vinabolt]

The Spanos didn't fully commit to SD. But by no mean they're trying to abandon the fan base in SD. Things already happened, and if they're smart, they will try to keep the out-of-town fans, whose fans that the "San Diego" factor doesn't mean as much to them as the San Diegans. You acted like we're irrelevant, it's disrespectful and just stupid and unrealistic.

The Chargers brand is #21 in value, worth more than 11 teams. They have better resume in the last 5-10 years than the Rams. They went to the SB, championship games. They have the history, the big names, the star power.

No person in their right mind would throw all of these away, even for the Spanos. If the rumors are true and that they're really "consider" it, it just mean they're stupid.

You realize you wrote this on a day the team abandoned by far their largest fan base to move to a city where the biggest newspaper is running articles telling the team we don't want you? A rebrand does not mean they would no longer have a team to support, it would mean people hesitant to support the shit the Chargers stand for would have a chance to support something shiny and new.

Deep down you realize this a joke of a franchise and they don't have global following. Its ok, I loved this team too, despite their ineptitude. But it is what it is, shit.