The San Diego Curse
Richard Esperti
Issue date: 2/13/07 Section: Sports
In reviewing this year's Super Bowl, I started thinking about the Chargers' disappointing ending to their season. But beyond that, I began thinking about the disappointing performance of professional San Diego teams in general. San Diego is a choker town when it comes to professional sports. Both the Padres and the Chargers have a knack for building fans up and letting them down. It's like clockwork in this town.
Let us begin with the Chargers. Outside of a 51-10 victory over the Boston Patriots, for the AFL Championship on January 5, 1964, the Chargers have failed miserably on several occasions to bring a championship home to San Diego. Are the Chargers incapable of effectively competing in the NFL? It would seem so to a degree, considering their only championship came before the AFL and NFL merger of 1970.
Since the merger, the Chargers have made three - count them, one, two, three - AFC Championship games, and only one Super Bowl appearance, a losing effort to the San Francisco 49ers. The Chargers overall playoff record stands at 7-13, that's a .350 winning percentage in the postseason. This is hard to believe considering the talent that existed on those losing teams.
The talent consisted of Hall of Fame athletes like Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner, and Kellen Winslow in the 1980s when the Chargers took part in two of their three AFC Championship games. Then there were those who played on the Chargers' only Super Bowl team. Future Hall of Famers like Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison, who both play now for the New England Patriots, a team that has won three of the last six Super Bowls.
The answer to why the Chargers fail at creating winning teams may be that they get rid of players too easily; the organization lacks patience. Rodney Harrison had a slow season in 2002, his last season with the Chargers. The following year Harrison ended up in New England where he turned around and led the league with 126 tackles, which he topped the following year with 138 tackles.
Let us begin with the Chargers. Outside of a 51-10 victory over the Boston Patriots, for the AFL Championship on January 5, 1964, the Chargers have failed miserably on several occasions to bring a championship home to San Diego. Are the Chargers incapable of effectively competing in the NFL? It would seem so to a degree, considering their only championship came before the AFL and NFL merger of 1970.
Since the merger, the Chargers have made three - count them, one, two, three - AFC Championship games, and only one Super Bowl appearance, a losing effort to the San Francisco 49ers. The Chargers overall playoff record stands at 7-13, that's a .350 winning percentage in the postseason. This is hard to believe considering the talent that existed on those losing teams.
The talent consisted of Hall of Fame athletes like Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner, and Kellen Winslow in the 1980s when the Chargers took part in two of their three AFC Championship games. Then there were those who played on the Chargers' only Super Bowl team. Future Hall of Famers like Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison, who both play now for the New England Patriots, a team that has won three of the last six Super Bowls.
The answer to why the Chargers fail at creating winning teams may be that they get rid of players too easily; the organization lacks patience. Rodney Harrison had a slow season in 2002, his last season with the Chargers. The following year Harrison ended up in New England where he turned around and led the league with 126 tackles, which he topped the following year with 138 tackles.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
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posted 2/07/10 @ 8:25 PM PST
chargers suck.
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posted 3/10/10 @ 9:12 AM PST
You made some good points about the Charger's and their curse. I hadn't thought of it that way before.
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