I love California Football "Fans".
In New England I see first hand what fans go through to get their hands on tickets and how quickly the games sell out at Gillette. So I'm having a tough time understanding how in a market like San Diego there could have even been a possibility of a television blackout for this week's game.
Now let me preface with the fact that I don't like the Chargers, but the rational side of me also understands that they have an excellent quarterback (Phillip Rivers), one of the best all-purpose backs in the game (LaDainian Tomlinson) and one of the best tight ends (Antonio Gates). They're a team that was in the AFC Championship game last year and many of the "experts" picked them as a Super Bowl contender heading into this season.
So how in the world the tickets didn't sell out when they went on sale just defies logic.
I understand that in California going to a sporting event is treated like going to the theater. You go when you feel like it, when it's convenient, and when it's interesting enough to make them want to go. Unlike baseball, football isn't "fashionable" and not a place you generally see Hollywood's finest in the stands. The thought of being able to walk up to the ticket window at Gillette Stadium on gameday whenever the mood strikes me is just too difficult to even imagine. Yet in California that seems to be how it is.
I'd be interested to know what the season ticket numbers look like and how they stack up against the rest of the teams around the country. After all, even markets like Indianapolis sellout. According to the US Census Indianapolis has a population of 800,000, while San Diego is at 1.3 million. Obviously, much like Foxboro, the vast majority of people also live outside the city. So in theory that number is even that much higher. Yet no one cared enough months ago (before they even knew Tom Brady would miss this season) to buy tickets so that they could have a chance to see if their team could stick it to the Patriots in front of the home crowd. I'm not sure how that happened. You have just eight chances to catch a game at the home stadium when it counts (unless they make it to the playoffs) but apparently we view things different here in New England.
We also won't even get into the fact that there's no longer a team in Los Angeles because people simply don't care. The Patriots managed to stay in Foxboro with a stadium that was fit for a college team, yet L.A. lost the Rams. Go figure.
Well, luckily for Chargers "Fans" the team announced that all the tickets have finally sold, and the rest of those same "Fans" can avoid the stadium now and catch the game on their high-definition flat screen televisions.
Needless to say it's a definitely a different way of life in California. Makes me glad I live in New England.
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