Franchises have moved before in professional sports. It isn’t as regular occurrence as it used to be though. Long gone are the days that organizations would hold a city hostage, only to take their ball and go home to greener pastures. That is what makes San Diego’s victory over Miami on Sunday bittersweet. In what can only amount to a lost season, the Chargers made sure they played what could be their last game in San Diego like it was their last.
Owner Dean Spanos and his two sons has been at odds with the city of San Diego for quite some time. The constant power struggle between the two sides on the fate of his franchise has left many a Chargers fan in limbo. There has been football in San Diego for over 50 years. They have been Southern California’s team since the Rams and Raiders bolted (no pun intended) Los Angeles in 1994. Now Spanos’ ultimatum has hit the eleventh hour. There are creative ways to keep the team in California, but it seems an inevitability that for now San Diego will be an NFL-less city come next season.
Young Chargers fans won’t have the nostalgia of Air Coryell to fall back on. Hell, some of them may just have a fleeting remembrance of their only Super Bowl appearance. But they will have the memory of the final game in San Diego emblazoned in their collective memories.
This year has been an especially tough one, and not just for the exit saga. The Chargers have given their fans little to cheer for. Their 3-10 record heading into the Miami game was tied for worst in the league. Their once high powered offense was the worst in the division and second worst in the conference. But you could feel something special in the atmosphere of what possibly be the final game at the only place most fans and players knew as home.
Signs of support flooded the stadium leaving the crowd resembling that at a wrestling event more than a football game. Qualcomm Stadium’s foundation shook as the Bolts faithful cheered on their men, even as they got off to a slow start. That sea of adulation grew louder as Danny Woodhead took a Philip Rivers dump off and scrambled 20 yards for the team’s first touchdown.
In the second quarter the momentum built further as you could see the Chargers feeding off the energy of the crowd. It is sad that it took a moment like this to spur a professional team to play their very best, but you couldn’t help but start rooting for them yourself as the Chargers continued to press on. Two more Danny Woodhead touchdowns broke the Dolphins’ spirit and raised that of the raucous audience.
The final Woodhead touchdown was just icing on the cake, totally nullifying the two consolation scores that the Dolphins got on either side of it. The Chargers had played their best game of the year from beginning to end. But after the adrenaline wore off, and the thrill of victory subsided, the realization set in for both players and fans alike that this could be the end.
Malcolm Floyd is retiring at season’s end. He’s spent his full 12 years in the league as a Charger. Philip Rivers has been there for the same amount of time. Both were at a loss for words about what the city and the fans in San Diego meant to them over their careers. All-Pro safety Eric Weddle stayed for over two hours after the game and signed every autograph that was requested of him. After he had run the autograph gauntlet, he laid on the Chargers helmet painted on midfield for one final time before it was removed ahead of the Holiday Bowl. But even after that bowl game the Bolt clad helmet may never return.
Nobody quite knows where the Chargers will be next year. They just know it most likely won’t be San Diego. But take solace San Diego fans, Baltimore lost the Colts and eventually got the Ravens. Those Ravens were the old Browns, but new ones took their place. The Oilers faithful would end up with the Texans. You’re team went out with a bang for you, and before you know it, you’ll have another team to call your own.