Tunescribe

It is 2 a.m. West Coast time, I'm mercifully a tad under the influence ... Not much positive to report from this experience. A few observations on the debacle:

* We all saw the game, I don't have much to add beyond the obvious: the defensive backfield needs something, don't know if it's scheme or personnel shortcomings, but that coupled with the lack of pressure on Rivers was painful to watch. Cassel just could not cut it; the goal-line stand where he got stuffed on fourth down was the final turning point after which the wheels fell off for New England. His pocket awareness continues to be very poor. His throws to Moss were awful.

* Qualcomm is a crumbling relic of a stadium -- lots of bad sightlines, but fairly intimate confines and it holds noise well.

* Chargers fans, as a group, are horrible. LOTS of punk Mexican kids in their teens/early twenties wearing Merriman jerseys, talking trash and trying to pick fights with Patriots fans. I ignored them, but saw some pretty horrific fights in the stands. Very uncivilized atmosphere, unlike Gillette. One Pats fan I saw had a bloody head after being wailed on and had to leave before halftime. The Chargers apparently contract outside for security, and security seemed disorganized and slow to respond to trouble. One San Diego fan who left early (a woman) wished me luck getting out alive. I wore my Pats gear, got harassed standing in line for the men's room -- very mean-spirited comments, and taunting, not good-natured ribbing. A really crappy atmosphere for visitors.

* San Diego is a classy city, but its NFL franchise is anything but, on many levels. Maybe a minor thing, but I noticed that the Chargers had a rather haphazard way of warming up before the game. They just sort of milled around on their side of the field, whereas the Pats did their stretching/warm-up exercises as usual in rows down the yard lines and did drills via position group, etc. They just looked more disciplined and organized overall, despite their performance during the game.

* Kaczur and Jarvis Green were immediately carted off after their injuries, a really bad sign.

* I've never seen BB more angry at officials than after the personal foul called on Mayo. He didn't let up, they eventually walked away from him and he followed one down the sideline. I didn't see what Mayo did on the replay, if anyone can fill me in on that please do.

* The Chargers do deserve credit for sticking it to the Patriots. They were very physical, and their kick coverage was superb. Our defense just couldn't stop them, and our offense looked like it was playing together for the first time.

* I could not figure out BB's reasoning for how the Pats proceeded after the touchdown with about five minutes left. They kicked deep instead of trying onsides, then treated the rest of the game like a preseason contest. No urgency to try to score more, yet timeouts were called later amidst running plays. Anyone hear any explanation?

* Wish I had something more positive to add. The weather was nice. There was a flyover of fighter jets after the national anthem. Looking forward to getting home tomorrow. Goodnight.

tuckeverlasting

my son and a grip of pats fans went to the game as a group. because he knew there was going to be trouble he escorted a female pats fan to the girls room and was surrounded by a gang of 5' 3" hispanic charger fans. he tried to ignore the losers but one spit on him. he did his best to maintain his composure but once his female friend came out of the girls room, he jocked one on the jaw and they made a dash for their seats. when he told his friends they were enraged and wanted blood. thankfully, they couldn't find them.

__________________
john clayton is super chicken and doug gottlieb is a thief .

pao

I believe the Chargers are not long for San Diego. That stadium is a disaster and City finances are a mess (although getting better). The City Attorney is a jackass and will be a roadblock to anything the Chargers do short of paying for a new stadium out of pocket (they won't). But all of that is no excuse for the behavior you describe and it needs to stop NOW. I have emailed the Chargers and a copy of your descripion, and others, was included. I expect to get the obligatory "we listen to our fans and will look into the matter" response. All responsible Chargers fans should do the same. Later in the day I will start a thread on the CMB and try to get a concerted effort started to get something that you describe as zero-tolerance policy instituted. I am surprised it isn't in place already. Again, on behalf of all Charger fans, I apologise to you and your family.

__________________
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly;..."

We confide in our strength, without boasting of it; we respect that of others, without fearing it -- Thomas Jefferson

Patjew

Ugh, sounds like a pretty crappy experience. Glad I wasn't there.

__________________
Drink like a beast.


To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Pats726

Sounds like a pretty poor place to be at...worse than Gillette in its worse days..no surpise at all though...given how they booed the refs when it was an obvious situation where teh player didn't have control of the ball..and being up by 20 plus points..when I saw that I realized the mentality OR lack of it in the fans there.

JoeSixPat

That about sums up the game. For what it's worth I was cheering their performance.

ScottieC

Thanks for the report!

Wow, I was close to going to this game. Glad I did not - I'll mark this one off the bucket list as a no-go for future reference.

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Let them all talk - Haters Hate, that's what they do - We have three Lombardi's, how about you?

pao

On behalf of all San Diegans please accept my apologies for the way you were treated. There is no place for stuff like that at a sporting venue. On a positive note I attended an Italian Festival here in San Diego before the game. Noticed many people wearing Patriot uniforms and spoke to a few, they were all gracious and talkative and it seemed as though they were enjoying themselves. None were hassled that I saw. Again, my apologies.

__________________
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly;..."

We confide in our strength, without boasting of it; we respect that of others, without fearing it -- Thomas Jefferson

pao

As a Charger fan I think I would have punched that Charger fan. Dude needed to be ejected and his season tickets taken away. Spitting on a girl?? Or anyone? Pathetic. Unacceptable. A stain on our fine city. For what it's worth I did not see any incidents described here.

__________________
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly;..."

We confide in our strength, without boasting of it; we respect that of others, without fearing it -- Thomas Jefferson

PatsWickedPissah

I love the SD area. I had similar experiences in my 2002 trip to Qualcom. Got seriously harrassed in the men's room but not accosted. It was a day game so there was probably less alcohol involved. Brady had a bad game with 2 very bad decision picks and LT ran wild. The Bledsoe Krishna Pats fans were still not over the recent divorce, so as the noted Brady's Lady in our 50 fan traveling contingent I took post game friendly fire as well.