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| (The San Diego chicken is perhaps the most famous mascot.) |
This is the third installment of the five-part series.
Here's the ground rules:
- The city has to have at least two franchises in the big four professional sports leagues: the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League.
- No expansion teams since 1980.
- No team in that city has not won a championship in the last 20 years.
- The closer that city's team(s) was/were to winning championship but could not close the deal the better (or worst).
San Diego holds the dubious distinction of being the largest U.S. metropolis without a major sports championship according to Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer. the city has not celebrated a championship since the chargers won the AFL title in 1963. Many point to the expectation of the fan-base, in part, to the sport franchises' futility over the years.
“It's a laid-back culture and a laid-back sports culture,” says Steven Ungerleider, a leading sports psychologist based in Eugene, Ore., “and you're not going to have as high expectations to win. That can send a message to athletes and owners: 'We want to win, sure. But it's not the end of the world. We're also interested in other things. We're interested in having fun.'”
San Diego has never been associated with having a rabid fan-base, despite fielding some good football teams and a who's-who list of world class athletes calling San Diego their hometown who have helped other cities win championships:
- Bill Walton/Portland & Boston
- Marcus Allen/Los Angeles
- Terrell Davis/Denver
The Chargers:
Lance Alworth, known as Bambi for his running style, helped the Chargers capture the 1963 AFL title was a productive WR for eight more years in San Diego before getting traded to the Dallso Cowboys in 1971--Ziegler calls this event The Curse of Bambi.
The Chargers traded beloved wideout Lance Alworth, arguably the greatest player in franchise history, to the Dallas Cowboys. Unloading “Bambi,” as Alworth was affectionately known, was not a particularly popular, or productive, deal for the Chargers. They got a tight end and two linemen who did little; the Cowboys went to the Super Bowl the next season and won it, Alworth catching a touchdown pass in the 24-3 victory against Miami.
San Diego teams, for the most part, have stunk ever since.
The Chargers actually made it to back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances in 1981& '82. with QB Dan Fouts, TE Kellen Winslow and the "Air-Coryell Offense. With their porous defense, the Oakland Raiders dispatched them in '81 on their way to winning their second Super Bowl, and Cincinnati trounced them in sub-zero weather conditions on their way to their first Super Bowl appearance.
The Chargers actually made it to the Super Bowl in 1995, but San Francisco put up record-setting offensive numbers to beat them 49-26.
San Diego made the playoffs five times with the QB combination of Drew Brees and Phillip Rivers, RB LaDanian Tomlinson and TE Antonio Gates between 2004-2009.
Remniscient of the of Air-Coryell days their defensecould not stop playoff-caliber teams when it mattered despite having All-pro LB Shawn Merryman.
The coup-De-gras was when the Charger management fired HC Marty Schottenheimer after finishing the 2006 season with a 14-2 record with little-to-no fan reaction. There is no-way this happens in New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Buffalo or even LA without the media and the fan-bases crucifying the organization.
San Diego being San Diego!
The Padres:
The Padres have five post-season appearances and two National League Pennants since their inception in 1969. In those two World Series appearances, the padres managed to win one game, Game 2 versus Detroit in 1984.
The Rockets:
Entering the NBA in San Diego to start the 1967-68 season, the Rocket made one playoff appearance (1968-69 season) before moving to Houston after the 1970-71 season.
Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes and NBA coaches Pat Riley and Rick Adelman starred on that team.
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