Your Favorite Team Doesn't Care About You

[Conley]

In the last 20 years, I have only missed seven Chargers games. I watch them every Sunday, and if the game is blacked out locally, I crowd around the radio like it's 1944 and I'm listening to FDR give a speech about the Nazis. Five years ago, when I was waiting tables and barely making rent, I spent three hundred and thirty dollars on an authentic LaDainian Tomlinson jersey. I did that partially because I needed to swap out my Steve Foley jersey after he was shot by the cops, but also because I wanted to show my support for the team I loved. And after this season there is a decent chance that the team I have spent thousands of hours — and way too many dollars — supporting will leave San Diego.

The Chargers have been in San Diego since 1961, and in that time they've established themselves as the Nicolas Cage of the NFL: Every 10 years they seem to pull it together and have a decent showing, but mostly they're just embarrassing to watch. But in the 1994-95 season, they made it all the way to the Super Bowl. Although my dad is from Kentucky, he is a Chargers fan. He moved to San Diego in 1971 and fell in love with the team. He won't wear a jersey, and the first time he saw me in mine he said, "I would never wear a goddamn jersey that belongs to a grown man. That's for children and the woman who is currently fucking that man." But he never misses a game, and follows the team as closely as I do.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7654198/the-writer-sh*t-my-dad-says-why-your-team-give-damn-you

This is a funny article. It's more about professional sports in general than anything about the Chargers.

[MMC]

The sentiment is more common than noted. It was like that during the Bulls and Jordans run to the stars. Back with Pippen Rodman and Grant. Tho check out footage when they all first come into the league. They will sign Autographs, take pictures, and are willing to talk to anybody. Then Stardom hits.

Make people pay for autographs. Same for pics. Their whole mentality changes.

My mother worked at Rubes Sportsmans club as a Bartender. They always had the Sox, Bears, and Blackhawks Players stopping in to see Rube and there to eat. Couple of the Old Bulls announcers like Johnny Red Kerr. My mother would talk about those guys giving up Jerseys to people who worked there for nothing. Taking pics and talking with people. This was when Bucky Dent was with the White Sox and before he moved on to the Yankee's.

Althought the baseball players aren't as bad. They still get out there for the kids and family, do all of that shiznit. Even before games when they are practicing and warming up.