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Eagles Fans Drowned Out Home Crowd in California

The Chargers’ StubHub Center became the Linc West yesterday – only with bleachers and roughly 40,000 fewer seats.

Photo by: Jeff Fusco.

The Chargers belong in San Diego. Just ask FOX Sports commentator Mark Schlereth, who repeatedly slipped up during yesterday’s broadcast of the Eagles game and referred to the old home of the Bolts on several occasions. After spending 56 years in S.D., the Chargers randomly decided to move 120 miles up Interstate 5 and represent L.A. this season — but who knows how long that experiment will last after their fanbase’s poor showing on Sunday afternoon.

Placing an NFL team in Los Angeles had long been the ambition of the league’s owners after the city lost its two previous franchises in 1995. Last year’s return of the Rams was celebrated, albeit cautiously with less-than-stellar attendance recorded for home games at the old Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The rushed addition of the Chargers to the L.A. football landscape left many football fans scratching their heads and wondering if Tinseltown had enough locals to support two teams.

The answer to that question is apparently a resounding “no,” as evidenced by the epic takeover of StubHub Center by Eagles fans yesterday. It was a wild scene at the 27,000-seat soccer stadium in suburban Carson, which was awash in a sea of green as it became the Linc West for an afternoon. (No stupid Wentz puns in this story!)

Chants of “Dallas Sucks” echoed off the bleachers (yes, they actually have those at an NFL stadium) and third downs were a nightmare for the Chargers, who heard their building get increasingly louder as Birds fans collectively tried to throw them off their game. Eagles players loved the crowd advantage that they received on the road, and quarterback Carson Wentz even commented that he’s no longer shocked by the passion of the Philly faithful after the game.

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