The Preventable Death of the San Diego Chargers: How Greed Wins in Today's NFL 

I just want to take a moment to think about how the San Diego Chargers fired their 14-2 coach in 2006.

"Have you ever heard the tragedy of Dean Spanos the entitled?" "It's not a story the Chargers would tell you..."

The Chargers belong in San Diego. Period.

Coming from a guy who has live in San Diego my whole life, Dean is the most hated man in the city and that was even before they moved to LA

Chargers: Betrays their entire fanbase by leaving the city they've been in for years. Raiders: Write that down, write that down!

This should be good

Even after about five years, sportscasters are still incorrectly calling them the SAN DIEGO CHARGERS. I will always think of them as such. San Diego Super Chargers.⚡️

As a San Diegan this still makes me feel sad. My family, especially my dad were huge fans. I still remember I even got to meet Rivers at a event hosted by my uncle. I still remember how my science teacher had chargers decals on her window and the moment the news went out everyone told her to take them off because they betrayed us. Sad

The Chargers coming to Los Angeles was such a stupid move. I don't see them long term here. Los Angeles doesn't need two NFL teams.

Best move of Rivers career? Finally saying NO to Spanos and going to the Colts

Speaking as someone who has witnessed the gradual shift in perception from the LA side towards the team, I think that this past season was the first time that most in the city thought of them as being an LA team. Ever since SoFi has allowed back fans, the Bolts have managed to improve their ticket sales. Having been to the team’s training camp this past year it was clear that the majority there were actually Angelinos and that, while there was still a sizable SD contingent, the team now has an actual fan base in LA. Herbert has managed to get people in the area interested and excited about the team. The attitude shift that most in the city have undergone towards them, myself included, is best reflected by Bill Plaske, legendary LA Times columnist. When the Chargers first announced the move, he wrote a whole column that blasted the move and asked if they were a top 5 or even top 10 team in LA. Just this past season, the day after the Jacksonville game, he was clearly unhappy and spent the first part of the show talking about how sad the game made him. The team’s massive presence online and in the community has also increased exposure and pulled more people in. To summarize, nobody in LA is stupid. None of us trust truly Spanos (we saw what he did to San Diego, which was a heinous crime against football), but there’s nothing you can really do about him. It’s also clear the team is intent on staying put (especially since they’ve got a new hq in El Segundo that they’ll be opening up next year). It’s taken a few years, but they finally feel like an actual part of the city now rather then some wannabe who drove up the 405. Up until about mid-2022 I think most in LA would’ve been fine with the Bolts going back south. Now, from my experience talking to people and living in the city, it is clear that everyone is not only fine with the Chargers, but wants them to stay. I also want to make one thing clear: everyone in LA wants the NFL to return to San Diego. It feels wrong that SD only has baseball and soccer to it’s name when it deserves football, basketball, and hockey as well. San Diego deserves a team and it’s a travesty the way it got screwed over. Once SD takes its rightful spot back in the league, that first game where the LA Chargers return to SD will become must see tv.

As a very bitter ex-Charger fan, this video has aged pretty well. I’m not anti LA by any means as I’m a Dodgers/Lakers fan and I enjoy plane spotting at LAX but the way Dean left forever soured me on the Chargers and I don’t miss them one bit. I remember that rainy day well when they officially left and I saw that stupid letter Dean wrote…. I grabbed a flat edged screwdriver and went outside in the rain to scrape a Chargers emblem I had on my Jeep, I was so angry that I dug into the paint to scrape the stupid thing off and when it came off I let it fall into the gutter and watched it float away in the muddy water. Good riddance. Eventually I became a Rams fan and literally days ago they hoisted up a Lombardi trophy. Never would’ve had that happen with that clown show franchise that will never amount to anything and will never win jack shit. Plus seeing Eric Weddle blast the Chargers after winning the Super Bowl was priceless. Even better is knowing that Dean now gets to look at 2 Lombardi trophies that don’t belong to him everyday! I will forever hate Dean Spanos and the Chargers. Last year while I was at LAX I saw Dean’s stupid Citation business jet with its Chargers helmet on the vertical stabilizer and cheat lines in Chargers colors… I so wanted badly to throw rocks at it but didn’t for obvious reasons… I did flip it the bird though, felt good.

As a Raider fan I would love to see the Chargers sold to a worthy family and return to San Diego with a new stadium. Nothing worse than beating a team with no fan base. There's nobody to talk shit to. #SelltheChargers

I wish Dean Spanos get caught with a crazy scandal that’ll force him to sell the team. He embarrassed and disrespected the team, the city of SD, and the fans. Im a die hard chargers fan, but personally, I’m sick of tired of people joking about the chargers because of his idiotic behavior.

You crushed the writing and mic drop story telling. Always return right where you started.

I'm just discovering your vids my man, they're great. Keep up the awesome work !

I remember when this was going on in San Diego. Spanos never wanted to stay, he wanted the new Stadium to be paid by city tax dollars and refused to pitch in any money. San Diegans like me we’re mad cause our roads aren’t the best and schools. We wanted more tax dollars to go to roads and schools not the stadium. He’s so greedy

ya gotta feel sorry for the athletes man. They don't deserve this

I just subscribed. I had to. That was some damn good writing with a crazy awesome call back. I also thought the video was well edited. I think I am going to be a big fan of this channel. Thanks for the content.

It honestly makes me so happy to see ads in quality creators videos . Like this dude gives so much free content to the world and gives so much effort to create it . It makes me happy to know that he gets paid .

There is a special place in hell for billionaires who reach into public funds.

As a former Chargers fan, I can say that I hope Dean enjoys the visual of how empty that big stadium will be first time the Chargers host a game there

As a Houston Oiler fan I can relate. I loved the team but the owner was a miserable person. In the end, greed and a new stadium deal is what forced Adams to move the team. The mayor at the time was asked about building a new stadium and he said "To do it, you've got to have three things going your way; the administration, business and the fans. I had none of these/" The move was inevitable. The Texans replaced them but I never felt the same about them despite having season tickets for 14 years. Kudos to San Diego for doing the right thing.

I didn’t know anything about football until I travelled to Southern California back in 2008 when I was living in Europe . We were in San Diego during late August and some friends of mine who lived wanted me to experience football and I attended a preseason game . From there I got involved into football to the point to watch every game pretty much and even play Fantasy football . I of course chose to support the Chargers cause they were the first team I watched and knew anything about . I then moved to SD in 2011 and watched as many live games as possible . I was super bummed when this move to LA happened . There was such a nice atmosphere at Qualcomm . Watching Rivers LT Gates playing was a blast . I must say there were quite a lot supporters for the opposite teams ( especially teams with lots of following like Steelers or raiders or cowboys or broncos or 49ers), but it was never a full stadium filled by opposite supporters like the stub hub , I would say when it was really really bad it was a 60-40 for chargers fans , but other than those games usually 80% where chargers fans . I will never understand this decision and hope they can come back in the future somehow , but not matter what I will still support them

In SD we lost our NBA team, our NFL team and our MLB team has made the postseason 5 times in 50 years. San Diego sports is great

Last time I was this early the chargers played in San Diego

Once again another great video.

Who’s here after the Chargers blew a 27 point lead against the Jaguars?

I’m a chiefs fan and even I was disgusted

I wish I could just laugh at the chargers like everyone else can but being from San Diego, it just hurts

Idgaf, I’m still calling them the San Diego Chargers

I have been a fan of the Chargers my whole life, and I’ve hated the Spanos family my whole life

The one good thing about LA getting the Chargers is that now there’s a guaranteed Raider game in LA every year🤷🏼‍♂️😂

10:34 Zlatan is so powerful he even gets in a video about American football

I like your Introduction to your add. In fact, I think reminding people that you’re not rich and have to pay rent is the best introduction to a commercial. I respect it.

Just loved this channel! I wonder how you monetize. Does RU-vid flag all your content?

I’m a Sonics. My heart goes out to you San Diego.

Should have stayed In san Diego

The Chargers are ghost in San Diego. A faded lightning bolt on back of a car. A homeless person wearing a LT jersey. Old Bud Light Neon Charger signs collect dust in bars. Theres no LA Charger fans here, just SD fans without a team.

7:10 There were actually two prior NFL Stadium proposals in Los Angeles, California.Farmers Field in Downtown LA and the Los Angeles Football Stadium in the City of Industry.

1:27 Phillip Rivers signing a sign that says Spanos ❤️💵

"everyone hates it and its canned within the day" wish the rams had the same typa logic ;/

Oh, that Eagles game in Week 4 of 2017 was glorious! To see the entire stadium bathed in midnight green, to hear the Chargers being booed as they ran onto their own field, to know that there were likely more third-team fans at that game than Chargers fans...but of course, none of that matters to Spanos, because the Eagles fans wound up lining his pockets that week.

My friend was a massive chargers fan (he was born in San Diego, before both him and the team moved) he stuck by them through it all but he was finally broken by the Pats game.

I was done after hearing those 30 seconds of hysterical laughter. Dean Spanos clearly underestimated the Los Angeles sports market.

As a San Diegan, this move still hurts me deeply. I just want to go back to having our consistently average team back at Qualcomm

Great video I’ve been surprised at how many fans are actually showing up to sofi for the chargers, I thought Forsure it would be a 95-5 ratio for the cowboys game but it definitely seemed 50-50. Maybe the chargers fans in San Diego don’t mind making the trip up to LA now that they’re in that beautiful stadium.

At the end when listing off teams, there's also the Anaheim teams (Angels and Ducks) that compete for the LA market, another MLS team in LAFC, and of course the popularity of USC and UCLA athletics.

I love the chargers but i don’t like Spanos at all

I swear to god if the jags move to London I’m going to be mad af

loved the vid!

One thing to note, at about 16:10 you list off the teams in LA. You're missing one: the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim). They rebranded to LA a decade or so ago.

Dean “The Lord of No Rings” Spanos.

Should have just used the 650M to renovate their stadium

2:40 to skip the ad

I was at the Rams vs Chargers game at the LA memorial coliseum in 2018. It’s was 50/50.

I’m pretty sure if I lived in San Diego and was a SD Chargers fan, id just stop watching football all together when they moved

16:09 LA actually has two MLS teams, LA Galaxy and LAFC. Both teams who sell better in LA than the Chargers 😂

Such a good video. Native San Diegan here, and lifelong San Diego Chargers Fan and 10 yr+ Season Ticket Holder....in San Diego. San Diego had numerous proposals and offerings to the Chargers to assist in developing a new stadium, but if it wasn't FULLY PAID for by the City, Dean would thumb his nose at it. Let some real Billionaire, like Jeff Bezos or Joseph Tsai buy the team, and build a stadium in San Diego, so they can come back.

Because I love this channel, I didn’t even skip the ad read, and I don’t even have balls 😂

To quote Nick Canepa (a sportswriter for the Union Tribune, San Diego's paper): "The Rams should change the name of the stadium to HOME OF THE RAMS, ETC."

16:10 You named 6 whole professional sports teams and still missed the LA Angles and LAFC😭😭 Chargers never stood a chance

Set the Edge - informative video. With their overall win / loss record and their lack of ticket sales, are they a well run organization?

So long as Spanos owns the Chargers and keeps the helmetless limp Bolt as the team logo, THEY ARE CURSED. As a San Diego Charger fan, the spectacular losses are quite entertaining. They no longer represent my hometown. I don't care if they go 2-16, as long as they beat the Raiders twice. If the Chargers are irrelevent, I don't even follow the NFL. I go surfing.

I always said if the chargers really wanted to move: they should’ve gone to Vegas and raiders to LA.

NFL needs to kick out spanos and relocate the team back to SD

Season opener 2022. Las Vegas Raiders played the "home team" Chargers at SoFi. You never would know who the home team was if you were there. It was like 2 visiting teams in a neutral stadium.

I lived in San Diego and hate the fact that the Chargers are no longer in SD. Great Content sir.

So sad seeing my dad who was a lifelong chargers fan, want nothing to do with them and absolutely despise the team 😔

Rivers a savage for signing that anti-Spanos sign lol

will be fun to see when the carges have to cover up the rafters with graphics so you dont see empty seats ^^ tv cameras arent allowed to pan to upper levels as well :D

Mark David just bought the WNBA Las Vegas Aces from MGM, and they'll stay in Vegas but will probably move to another arena to play home games, he's rumored to try and get a NBA expansion team for that town as well.

It baffles my mind that the Chargers value went up when they sell tickets like they're a US rugby team.

Can you make a similar video about how Kroenke screwed the Rams in St. Louis? A lot of people to this day think it was St. Louis’ fault, but it was absolutely Kroenke

I was a die hard St. Louis Rams fan back in the day. I feel you San Diego.

Anaheim is close enough to say that LA area has 2 NHL teams (Ducks ) and 2 MLB teams (Angels). And this article from Wikipedia states there are 2 MLS teams too en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_in_Los_Angeles. So, count them; 2 NBA, 2 NHL, 2 MLB, 2 MLS, 2 NFL teams. Yes, "Beyond Sensible.."

I’m a DIE HARD Bronco fan but this is just depressing... we all knew the Chargers were a mess, but damn. Your worse than the ASPCA.

"Don't care. Money." --Dean, probably

moving to a city that’s primarily fans of your rival in the raiders and to do it a year after the team that used to play there… moved back there…. just a horrendous move

16:05 There's even more saturation if you inlude Anaheim (Ducks and Angels)

It’s sad when Spanos pisses away history of a historical team: Fouts, the miracle ‘94 team, LT, Brees, Rivers, Antonio Gates. It’s like you put trust in a loyal fan base and you give them a giant middle finger

I miss my Chargers in SD....

Dean. Dean. What a great and very accurate video. I can’t even tell who’s playing who anymore. Anyone outside of Indianapolis or Pittsburgh is going arena league. It’s ruined everything.

Coincidently the Los Angeles Clippers also relocated from San Diego.

Chargers fan here: sell the team, Spanos!

I used to be such a huge chargers fan before Dean Spanos burned all of their fans

Dean Spanos: How can I piss off my fans today? Oh yeah, move to Los Angeles for basically no reason!

My team loses a lot but I couldn’t imagine losing them to another city I feel bad for the San Diego fans

Actually, the two times I attended games at Qualcomm Stadium, I loved it. There wasn't a bad seat anywhere. No issues with anything with the stadium except the traffic getting there.

Star Wars references in NFL videos are pinacle of RU-vid content, doesnt get better than this folks. Btw love ur vids

Life long Raider fan and I still say 💛San Diego💙when I refer to the Chargers⚡️

RIP Marty Schottenheimer..

I honestly think it's sad that a team with no fans in a bigger city gets more valuable just because of the TV rights.

Really well done video! These NFL mini-docs are getting me through quarantine

1:13 sums it all up quite nicely.

As a Bills fan and remembering the time when we were possibly relocating to fckn Toronto for a few years, I can empathize with the San Diego Chargers *BELONGING* in San Diego! The teams are synonymous with the city they play in! Always respected the San Diego Chargers and I will refuse to call them anything else than ..the San Diego Chargers. Same feeling goes for the Oakland Raiders, too in fact.

I was at that home opener in LA as a dolphins fan 😂😂😂

Pains me to here this as a chargers fam

Love that wee Darth Plagueis the wise reference

Good video. 👍😊