(01-23-2017 12:40 PM)EvilVodka Wrote: (01-22-2017 10:32 PM)chess Wrote: Los Angeles needs to gulp down the Rams and demonstrate the city can support a team.
There is an underlying assumption that LA will be for the Rams and the Chargers will be 2nd fiddle....but I don't know what that is based on...
I think the Raiders would have been 1st had they moved to L.A., but I think the Chargers will have every opportunity to garner as many if not more fans than the Rams, who have lived out of state for awhile now....
The Chargers in LA will not start with a fan base like the Jets have in the NY/NJ area; the Jets have been there for the last 57 years and because of that they have a base of fans now, notwithstanding their lack of consistent winning.
The Chargers are like any other new team in town that has no fan base in LA. If they want to build a fan base, they'll have to win consistently.
Winning consistently would be a departure from Chargers' team history. In the last 20 seasons (1997-2016), the Chargers have made 6 playoff appearances, including only one appearance in the AFC championship game (a loss to NE in the 2007 season). Their 20-year regular-season record is 143-177.
You don't have to make the playoffs every single year, and you don't have to make 7 Super Bowls in 16 seasons like the Patriots. But to make up the difference between the Chargers' history and winning enough to build a loyal LA fan base from scratch, they would need to win as often as, say, the Broncos. The Broncos from 1997-2016 have 11 playoff appearances, (including 3 Super Bowl wins and 4 Super Bowl appearances) and a 20-year regular-season record of 196-124.
Even without any Super Bowl appearances, IMO averaging almost 10 wins/season and making the playoffs at least half the time would do it. That would require a huge improvement in the management and coaching of the Chargers over its recent history.