It has become one of the peculiar features of the NFL calendar since both the Chargers and Rams relocated to Los Angeles in 2017, marking a reunion between America’s second-largest market and its most popular sporting league: more often than not, the teams’ home games look and sound like home games for the opposition. Chargers players were showered with boos when they took the field against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles two years ago. The Rams got the same treatment last season at home against the Packers. Both Rivers, the Chargers quarterback, and Rams quarterback Jared Goff have regularly been forced to use a silent count to combat the noise generated by the away side’s fans, typically an unnecessary measure to take for a team playing at home.“It’s certainly not ideal,” Rivers said with a hint of resignation after the 2017 game against the Eagles. The home-field hostility hit a fresh apex for both teams on the same Sunday last month. That afternoon, the Rams were overwhelmed on the field and in the stands, which were blanketed by the red of the visiting San Francisco 49ers. “This turned into a home game pretty quickly,” said San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo after the game. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
It hasn’t been quite as enjoyable for the ostensible home teams. A few hours later that day, the Chargers hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose fans roared with approval when the stadium PA system blasted their team’s adopted anthem, Renegade by Styx. It was supposed to be a gag; the song eventually transitioned to Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley, the punctuation to a long-running internet prank. But the joke didn’t land, and Chargers players were miffed.
“It was crazy,” Chargers running back Melvin Gordon said. “They started playing [the Steeelers’] theme music. I don’t know what we were doing – that little soundtrack, what they do on their home games. I don’t know why we played that.” Chargers offensive lineman Forrest Lamp was more blunt: “We’re used to not having any fans here. It does suck, though, when they’re playing their music in the fourth quarter. We’re the ones at home. I don’t know who’s in charge of that, but they probably should be fired.”
The go-to line from Rams and Chargers brass is that it will take time to cultivate a true fan base in Los Angeles. Chargers owner Dean Spanos, who engineered the franchise’s move from San Diego after voters there rejected his bid for public funding of a new stadium, told the New York Times earlier this year that it will “take maybe a generation” for the team to find its footing in LA. On Tuesday this week, he was forced to deny rumors the team has discussed relocating to London.
by Tom Kludt, The Guardian | Read more:
Image: Jake Roth/USA Today Sports
