Chargers fail to draw a bigger crowd than L.A. Galaxy for their preseason debut

[DaneMcCloud]

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/chargers-fail-to-draw-a-bigger-crowd-than-l-a-galaxy-for-their-preseason-debut/

Yes, an NFL team playing in a soccer stadium can't outdraw the soccer team that plays there

Despite the fact that it's only preseason, when teams move there's usually a certain buzz around a team's first game in a new stadium. The Los Angeles Chargers' move, however, has been controversial from the jump. For their preseason opener on Sunday night, 21,054 fans went to the StubHub Center (which has a capacity of 27,000) to see the Chargers get routed by the Seahawks. For comparison, the Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS had 25,667 in attendance the previous night.

The Chargers' welcome to L.A. has been significantly less than warm so far. Between them getting booed at the Staples Center in January and their new logo being mocked into the ground upon its unveiling, the Chargers will really need to work to get into the good graces of the city. Obviously it isn't impossible, and winning cures all, but it's no easy task in the vaunted AFC West. Perhaps the city will warm up to the Chargers in the near future, but with the Rams' move already being controversial, it shouldn't come as a surprise that fickle L.A. fans are wary of another team.

StubHub Center being a temporary home may also be a factor. Soccer games are played in football stadiums with some frequency, but the opposite is rarely true. The Chargers will be sharing a new palatial home with the Rams in Inglewood that is expected to be ready come 2020. It will have a capacity of 70,240. Hopefully the Chargers have a bigger following by then, because 20,000 people would look awfully lonely in that space.

[DaneMcCloud]

It was a great idea for the Spanos family to leave San Diego

LMAO

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Yeah, I've felt that it was a really stupid move all along. It would be different had the Rams not just moved there, but they are LA's team (if they even truly have one).

[DaneMcCloud]

Yeah, I've felt that it was a really stupid move all along. It would be different had the Rams not just moved there, but they are LA's team (if they even truly have one).

There were more opposing fans at Rams games than Rams fans but that will change when/if the team begins to win. They still have a following in SoCal so all they need to prove is that they're committed to winning and they'll have good crowds.

The Chargers? I just can't see it.

[notorious]

:facepalm:

[Rausch]

There were more opposing fans at Rams games than Rams fans but that will change when/if the team begins to win.

The Chargers were winning 11 and 12 games in SD and couldn't sell out.

The 49'ERS and Raiders own that state and the Chargers are the homely girl with a great personality...

[Eleazar]

I know this is the case in New York, obviously, where you have two teams with many decades of fan heritage, but in LA when you have two teams move in just a year apart - how can they expect for both to succeed? Especially when they're both going to play in the same stadium and thus you won't have a 'this half of the city' vs 'that half of the city thing' going.

The Chargers might want to stay at the soccer stadium because it's hard to see them drawing more than 27k given the above and with their team the way it is LMAO

[displacedinMN]

Granted-preseaon games suck. But the Chargers will have a terrible time doing anything in LA-forever.

NDSU sold out all games for the Fargodome in less than 10 minutes. (just over 19,000 seats) Maybe the Chargers should move to Fargo. Or Anchorage, Or Lincoln, NE

[Eleazar]

Granted-preseaon games suck. But the Chargers will have a terrible time doing anything in LA-forever.

NDSU sold out all games for the Fargodome in less than 10 minutes. (just over 19,000 seats) Maybe the Chargers should move to Fargo. Or Anchorage, Or Lincoln, NE

Oakland might have an opening soon ROFL

[DaneMcCloud]

Preaseason games suck but 20,000 in a brand new city?

Even to say that it's laughable doesn't do it justice.

I think the Chiefs drew more than 20,000 people during the 70's and 80's preseason games.

This is the definition of a disaster.

[DaneMcCloud]

Oakland might have an opening soon ROFL

The Spanos Family is from Northern California (Stockton) and it would have made more sense for them to share Levi's Stadium after the Raiders move to Vegas than to share the with the Rams in Los Angeles.

[chinaski]

I have lived in the LA area for 20 years, and while there are a lot of NFL fans, most people are fans of other teams.

I don't know if that is a reflection on the fact that there wasn't an NFL team here for over two decades, or the fact a large majority of the population are transplants from somewhere else...it is what it is.

There is certainly a large contingent of Raiders fans, but again most people are fans of whatever team they grew up with, or whatever team they happened to adopt.

I can see the Rams being successful, being a team that actually has some history here, but the Chargers not so much.

[displacedinMN]

Oakland might have an opening soon ROFL

I think I said it before

Chargers should be the ultimate road team. Each year, home is a new, small market city. They could use an existing stadium. Play 8 games there then move. They would change their name to the Nomads. (not Ermines)

Maybe they will be the team in London.

[notorious]

Probably the dumbest relocation in history.

[ModSocks]

Preaseason games suck but 20,000 in a brand new city?

Even to say that it's laughable doesn't do it justice.

I think the Chiefs drew more than 20,000 people during the 70's and 80's preseason games.

This is the definition of a disaster.

And half of THOSE were freakin' Seahawk fans. Get fucked, Spanos.

Also, both the Rams and Raiders are now encroaching on San Diego, which is hilarious.

Rams games are now being broadcast in San Diego, and Raiders games will be called on 105.3. 105.3 is one of San Diego's most popular FM stations and use to broadcast Chargers games.

LMAO, again, Get fucked Spanos.

[Rain Man]

I think I said it before

Chargers should be the ultimate road team. Each year, home is a new, small market city. They could use an existing stadium. Play 8 games there then move. They would change their name to the Nomads. (not Ermines)

Maybe they will be the team in London.

That would be a great concept if they used the Ermines name. I bet ermines are somewhat nomadic.

On a related note, I was in North Dakota this weekend and passed through Dickinson. Their college's football team was named the "Blue Hawks", which made me laugh. Ermines was so much better than "Fighting Hawks". If I was a football player there, I'd transfer out purely out of creative protest.

[BlackHelicopters]

The fascination with the Chargers among the people of CP continues to baffle me.

[DaneMcCloud]

The fascination with the Chargers among the people of CP continues to baffle me.

Uh, they're a Division Rival?

[stumppy]

That would be a great concept if they used the Ermines name. I bet ermines are somewhat nomadic.

On a related note, I was in North Dakota this weekend and passed through Dickinson. Their college's football team was named the "Blue Hawks", which made me laugh. Ermines was so much better than "Fighting Hawks". If I was a football player there, I'd transfer out purely out of creative protest.

It's just not going to happen man, it's just not going to happen.:D

[Kiimo]

People here aren't just disinterested in the Chargers.

They actively dislike them and don't want them here.

[displacedinMN]

The fascination with the Chargers among the people of CP continues to baffle me.

It is joyful to revel in the failure of division rivals!

[Rain Man]

It's just not going to happen man, it's just not going to happen.:D

That's what they said about ending apartheid, too. All it takes is a commitment to the cause.

[MahiMike]

Good news is we won't have trouble getting tickets.

[L.A. Chieffan]

The ticket prices are ridiculous as well. I have a feeling, even though it's only 27,000 the game is gonna get blacked out here locally. Dumb.

[PAChiefsGuy]

The Chargers = Fail

[gblowfish]

They should have moved to San Antonio instead.

[DaFace]

Hard to feel sorry for them.

[ModSocks]

I'm lovin' it.

My wife, who doesn't watch sports of any kind, has asked me to teach her about the Rams. She has legitimate interest in rooting for the Rams soley out of spite for the Chargers. And she's serious too. I find that hilarious.

[Rain Man]

I'm lovin' it.

My wife, who doesn't watch sports of any kind, has asked me to teach her about the Rams. She has legitimate interest in rooting for the Rams soley out of spite for the Chargers. And she's serious too. I find that hilarious.

Be sure to cover the Bob Waterfield era.

[Al Bundy]

Hard to feel sorry for them.

I only feel sorry for the fans left behind in San Diego.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Buck just burned his cap

[Eleazar]

This is all far fetched of course, but you wonder if the Chargers should have considered Portland. I think I read that they are the biggest city that doesn't already have an NFL team within 3 hours' drive. They would actually have fans there. They could have gotten their own stadium. If they could have done some kind of a swap to move to the NFC west, they'd have huge built-in rivalries with Seattle and San Francisco.

I know none of it makes sense now, but none of it made sense in leaving SD, leaving for LA, or SD letting the team walk in the first place. It's all a big cluster anyway.

[RobBlake]

Just go back to San Diego.. renovate the stadium.. maybe make it smaller and go from there

[suzzer99]

But it's an intimate setting! Which matters to whom? The people who aren't sitting way up in the bleachers? For everyone else - don't you generally want more fans cheering behind you, not less?

[suzzer99]

My cousin insisted on buying some $180 tickets for the Chiefs/Chargers game. I told him to just wait until the day before and they'll be half that. Worst case scenario they're the same or slightly higher. Best-case scenario they'll be much cheaper.

[suzzer99]

LA doesn't support football teams well period. And they have absolutely no love for the Chargers. The only time most LA fans think about the Chargers at all is when they're forced to watch some shitty local SD game instead of a good national game.

This will be a hilarious disaster by mid-season at latest.

[DaneMcCloud]

I only feel sorry for the fan left behind in San Diego.

Fixed

:D

[CaliforniaChief]

It's going to be a situation where the visiting team will have so many expatriates living in LA that it will be like a road game every single time.

When the Chiefs played in San Diego, I would say conservatively that they had 15,000 fans at every game. Move it to LA where you'll pick up those fans plus those like me who live a bit far from SD and we'll flood the secondary market and turn that soccer stadium RED.

[ModSocks]

But it's an intimate setting! Which matters to whom? The people who aren't sitting way up in the bleachers? For everyone else - don't you generally want more fans cheering behind you, not less?

"Intimate Setting". Gimmicky bullshit to save face for the embarrassing fact that NFL games will be played in a 27K venue for the next 3 seasons.

Spanos couldn't have fucked himself any harder even if he bought himself a horse-cock dildo.

He went scorched earth policy the moment the country learned of the Rams' intention to move to L.A in order to strong arm the city to pay for his shit. He put a fucking lawyer in front of the city as his go-between who ignited anger in the fan base, by design of course.

Once the Carson project was shot down he came crawling back, removed his lawyer buddy from the public's eye and put together a poorly managed, half hearted effort into a downtown SD stadium that would cost almost 2billion to build along with a massive logistics nightmare. Essentially, he aimed for the most difficult and least likely scenario that would yield a new stadium. It failed at the voting booth as expected, he took his shit and left.

Now the Rams have moved into San Diego's T.V market, the Raiders have moved into San Diego's radio market, the majority of the fan base either hates the Chargers or have gone apathetic and L.A has shown zero willingness to support the team thus far.

L.A told him not to move. The NFL told him not to move. The entire fucking nation told him not to move and he did it anyway.

Now he has no fan base in L.A, no fan base in San Diego, his Californian rivals have moved into the market he left behind and they just got a 48-17 beat down in a 20K venue half filled with rival team fans.

I'm sorry but...LMAO LMAO LMAO LMAO.

Get fucked, Spanos. He couldn't have fucked this situation up any worse.

[Easy 6]

Its disgraceful, Spanos and the NFL are going to be regretting this for a loooooong time

[ModSocks]

Oh and i left off the logo reveal debacle where they basically ripped off the Dodgers' "LA" logo and put a bolt in it. Oh man, the hilarity that ensued after that fuck up....

Even their stupid marketing slogan for L.A..."The fight for L.A". Oh, gtfo with that shit Dean. LMAO

[L.A. Chieffan]

My cousin insisted on buying some $180 tickets for the Chiefs/Chargers game. I told him to just wait until the day before and they'll be half that. Worst case scenario they're the same or slightly higher. Best-case scenario they'll be much cheaper.

I think I might just show up day of and scalp them for like $10

[RippedmyFlesh]

Its disgraceful, Spanos and the NFL are going to be regretting this for a loooooong time

Agree . I don't revel in this at all. I know spanos is a jerk but they basically killed a franchise. I am a football fan so it's not a good thing to me.

[RippedmyFlesh]

Its too bad because if they had the rams get established first they could have brought a 2nd team under the right circumstances in and done well. 2 well run teams could succeed in LA.

[Kiimo]

It's going to be a situation where the visiting team will have so many expatriates living in LA that it will be like a road game every single time.

When the Chiefs played in San Diego, I would say conservatively that they had 15,000 fans at every game. Move it to LA where you'll pick up those fans plus those like me who live a bit far from SD and we'll flood the secondary market and turn that soccer stadium RED.



JOIN US


https://www.facebook.com/ChiefsLosAngeles/

[Kiimo]

Get ****ed, Spanos. He couldn't have ****ed this situation up any worse.


Also you forgot one thing

His new landlord is a multi billionaire with actual real liquid money who also happens to be his #1 competitor for fans who will sabotage him at every turn.

Hope your team likes inexplicable cold showers and the lights turning off randomly.

[ModSocks]

Also you forgot one thing

His new landlord is a multi billionaire with actual real liquid money who also happens to be his #1 competitor for fans who will sabotage him at every turn.

Hope your team likes inexplicable cold showers and the lights turning off randomly.

Not my team. Just my city.

[Iowanian]

Why wouldn't you give LA (2) NFL teams....they've always proven to be such a loyal fan market.

This will be a dismal failure.

[alanm]

Granted-preseaon games suck. But the Chargers will have a terrible time doing anything in LA-forever.

NDSU sold out all games for the Fargodome in less than 10 minutes. (just over 19,000 seats) Maybe the Chargers should move to Fargo. Or Anchorage, Or Lincoln, NELincoln falls under Chiefs territory. It wouldn't work.

[Best22]

Granted-preseaon games suck. But the Chargers will have a terrible time doing anything in LA-forever.

NDSU sold out all games for the Fargodome in less than 10 minutes. (just over 19,000 seats) Maybe the Chargers should move to Fargo. Or Anchorage, Or Lincoln, NE

Lincoln is Huskers/Chiefs territory.

[sd4chiefs]

Probably the dumbest relocation in history.

Spanos was never going to get a new stadium in San Diego. Qualcomm was a total POS. He gave them 12 years to come up with some kind of plan. The stadium vote last November only got only 41% approval and they needed 66.7% for it to pass. He should have just said F it and sold the team.

[Kiimo]

Not my team. Just my city.


In this hypothetical sentence I'm speaking to Dean Spanos.

[Rasputin]

I think Chargers should come up with a bran new identity. Like The No Mans Lands Team.


Maybe Rain Man could make us a poll and we could submit it to Roger for approval?

[BryanBusby]

Spanos was never going to get a new stadium in San Diego. Qualcomm was a total POS. He gave them 12 years to come up with some kind of plan. The stadium vote last November only got only 41% approval and they needed 66.7% for it to pass. He should have just said F it and sold the team.
I think that's kinda the plan. The Chargers will be worth a lot more being a bitch in Kronkworld vs free roam in a shit dump Qualcomm.

[Kiimo]

Spanos didn't want to renovate Qualcomm and Spanos didn't want a stadium in gaslamp. He knew those weren't going to happen.

He's cash-poor and he doesn't care about the team, the players, the fans or Kroenke or anything. He moved to LA to inflate the value of the team because he's going to sell that shit for 4 times the value.

Don't blame the people of San Diego for saying no to a broke ass owner asking people to pay for his stadiums. That downtown plan not only would cost tons of money it would screw up traffic downtown irreparably, even worse than it is now.

He never expected that to pass, it was so he could leave. He only cares about money.

The best anyone can hope for is the next owner moving the team back to San Diego in a new stadium paid for by private funding. Spanos isn't going to seriously even try to win LA over. He doesn't give a shit.

[BryanBusby]

You must of missed that badass logo they made to show they were all in.

[FD]

Chargers in LA was a terrible idea. The Rams can be successful but Kronke just wanted another tenant in his new stadium. Chargers could have relocated to Orange county and called themselves the Southern California Chargers and kept their original fanbase.

[L.A. Chieffan]

JOIN US


https://www.facebook.com/ChiefsLosAngeles/

You run that place?

[jallmon]

It's going to be a situation where the visiting team will have so many expatriates living in LA that it will be like a road game every single time.

When the Chiefs played in San Diego, I would say conservatively that they had 15,000 fans at every game. Move it to LA where you'll pick up those fans plus those like me who live a bit far from SD and we'll flood the secondary market and turn that soccer stadium RED.

I remember an interview Merlin Olsen gave years ago about playing for the Rams in LA. He said in his NFL career, he never played one home game.

[NWTF]

Well apparently the Chargers are aware of their lack of fans and are making efforts to fix that.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/08/14/chargers-providing-free-tattoos-on-tuesday/

[DaneMcCloud]

Well apparently the Chargers are aware of their lack of fans and are making efforts to fix that.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/08/14/chargers-providing-free-tattoos-on-tuesday/


LMAO

Like that's going to convince people to sit in 90 minutes of traffic, each way, to go to Carson from WeHo.

[NWTF]

LMAO

Like that's going to convince people to sit in 90 minutes of traffic, each way, to go to Carson from WeHo.

Yeah I tried to type that with a straight face but I confess ROFL.

Free Chargers tattoos. You got to be kidding me.

[beach tribe]

I will never understand why they thought it would be smart to move two teams back to LA before they had proven that they would support one.
It has failed in the past and I see the Chargers leaving LA in the not so distant future.
Maybe back to SD, maybe not, but LA is not going to give a F about the Chargers.

[MatriculatingHank]

Wonder what effect this will have on getting tickets for the Chiefs game on September 24?

[displacedinMN]

Wonder what effect this will have on getting tickets for the Chiefs game on September 24?

Can you imagine a 20K seat stadium with 15K Chiefs fans and it is a home game for the CHARGERS???????????

[lcarus]

Probably the dumbest relocation in history.

Agreed. I dislike the fucking Chargers but I thought they belonged in SD. Plus they had a good enough logo and uniforms

[DaneMcCloud]

NFL Network "A crowd of 21,000 Strong shows up"

LMAO

[Nickhead]

looks like it doesn't matter what size the stadium is for the chargers. :D

[Hoopsdoc]

I'm lovin' it.

My wife, who doesn't watch sports of any kind, has asked me to teach her about the Rams. She has legitimate interest in rooting for the Rams soley out of spite for the Chargers. And she's serious too. I find that hilarious.

I'll teach her all about them.

[chinaski]

Spanos didn't want to renovate Qualcomm and Spanos didn't want a stadium in gaslamp. He knew those weren't going to happen.

He's cash-poor and he doesn't care about the team, the players, the fans or Kroenke or anything. He moved to LA to inflate the value of the team because he's going to sell that shit for 4 times the value.

Don't blame the people of San Diego for saying no to a broke ass owner asking people to pay for his stadiums. That downtown plan not only would cost tons of money it would screw up traffic downtown irreparably, even worse than it is now.

He never expected that to pass, it was so he could leave. He only cares about money.

The best anyone can hope for is the next owner moving the team back to San Diego in a new stadium paid for by private funding. Spanos isn't going to seriously even try to win LA over. He doesn't give a shit.

Interesting take, you are probably right. :hmmm:

[TinyEvel]

Hey, if it means I can fly 45 minutes and see the Chiefs in my home town with all my old friends once every year, it's a damn good thing. I bet I can get good seats cheap too.

[DaneMcCloud]

Hey, if it means I can fly 45 minutes and see the Chiefs in my home town with all my old friends once every year, it's a damn good thing. I bet I can get good seats cheap too.

I'll try to go this September but it'll be a last minute thing if I do

[MarkDavis'Haircut]

I think I said it before

Chargers should be the ultimate road team. Each year, home is a new, small market city. They could use an existing stadium. Play 8 games there then move. They would change their name to the Nomads. (not Ermines)

Maybe they will be the team in London.

And they can change their name to the Bulldogs.

1920s NFL reference.