The Bolts are bolting, setting off to the north in search of higher profits and perhaps a stadium with “sky boxes” for big money types who like nachos and a lap dance while cheering on their team in air-conditioned comfort. So much for loyalty to the fans and community that supported them on for decades. So long San Diego Chargers. The yahoos wearing your over-priced jerseys might be weeping, but you will get no tears from me.
Nestled among the American “too big to fail” oligarchies of Big Pharma, Big Media, Big Defense, Big Finance, Big Insurance, Big Transport, Big Energy, and Big Ag, all these days more consolidated, corrupt and collusive than they ever were, is Big Sports (or Big Gambling, if you prefer a clear-eyed view). Like the ownership of the other “ too-biggies,” billionaire American predominate but, in the case of sports, the franchises they own are not just their toys, but also a source of added revenue and substantial capital gains, the tax drug of choice for the ownership class.
Typical of the perverted relationship between the public and private sectors of the American economy capitalistic extortion of the public fisc and the intimidation of local communities by big sports franchises is “just part of the game.” It is capitalism at its finest, owning every aspect of production, and it hob-nobs with capitalism’s other big boys—Pharma (especially those ED drugs), alcohol, trucks, and let’s not forget (how could we with the national anthem being screeched out and that giant flag being stretched by “wounded warriors” over the playing field) the military-industrial complex.
Did the producers and promoters of the gladiatorial games of the Roman empire insist that local governments build arenas to their specifications, or they would move on to some other empire to occupy their “sky boxes” and capitulate to using taxpayer monies to pick up the cost of unsold seats? For years now that’s what we non-yahoos in San Diego have been getting stuck for. And then the Charger organization can just dole out the seats to military families and such for some nice free public relations.
NFL teams love to present themselves as a public asset, part of the community, when, in fact, they are just carpetbaggers that will stick around so long as the profits are better than somewhere else. About the only thing local about them is that they are called the San Diego Chargers, there not being anything “local” about the players, staff or ownership. They don’t give a rat’s ass about the local community; team loyalty is a one way street, from the yahoos to their beloved players, easily betrayed for higher profit.
This has all been over the Spanos family, owners of the Chargers, trying to strong-arm city into paying for a good part of a new, fancy-ass facility to replace currently adequate Qualcomm Stadium. A new stadium vote basically gave the Chargers the finger this last election and now they will decamp for LA-LA land, where the Rams have precipitously returned leaving rejected fans in St. Louis to lavish leftover worship on their baseball Cardinals (their football Cardinals having left for Arizona several years ago). The Oakland Raiders are also considering a move to Las Vegas.
So don’t lose hope San Diego football yahoos, with NFL musical chairs you just might end up with the San Diego Browns, or Jets, or Bills or maybe just a nice new museum, or symphony or tuition-free community colleges. Meanwhile, good riddance to the rip-off Spanos Chargers. You never taught us a godamned thing, except how to get dressed up like clowns, pay eight bucks for watery beer, and cheer for guys giving each other concussions like it mattered about anything at all.