Philadelphia Eagles could have home game in California
The Philadelphia Eagles could enjoy better-than-expected fan support at StubHub Center when they play the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
The Philadelphia Eagles have a golden opportunity to advance to 3-1 on the 2017 NFL regular season in week four.
Forget the injuries to the secondary and also the fact that Fletcher Cox will miss this game against the only professional football team that could be described as nomadic right now. There’s a unique set of circumstances in this game that the Eagles may never see again, and it’s critical that Philly takes full advantage of this AFC West team that’s clearly in a state of flux.
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The San Diego – sorry, Los Angeles Chargers left SDCCU Stadium after last season in order to share living space with the Los Angeles Rams, who obviously belong in the City of Angels. For the Rams, L.A. is home, but this has yet to be proven true for a Chargers team that just arrived in somewhat uninvited fashion.
As the Rams and Chargers won’t have a new stadium to play in for a couple more years, San Diego’s rejects have to play home games at tiny StubHub Center in Carson, California. This 27,000 seat stadium obviously falls well short of typical NFL capacity. In fact, it holds roughly one-third of the number of people that all other pro-football venues accommodate around the country.
The intimate complex, which is normally the home of the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer, might very well be a great place to watch an NFL football game up-close and personal. The problem lies in the fact that perhaps the wrong fans are showing up to watch one of the local teams play football.
Yes, bad news for the Chargers – but good news for the Eagles, possibly.
Two weeks ago, the Miami Dolphins came all the way across the country to open their season against the Chargers in Los Angeles. They brought their team, coaches, equipment and at least 10,000 of their own fans for the game. This is not an exaggeration by any means as even SDCCU Stadium was known for being invaded by fans of the Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, and even the Kansas City Chiefs.
Speaking of Kansas City, the Chiefs played at StubHub Center on week three and felt the same kind of hospitality that’s generally unheard of for a visiting NFL team. It wouldn’t surprise me if Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers actually carried Chief’s quarterback Alex Smith’s bags across the parking lot before kickoff.
You listening, Carson Wentz? These circumstances mean not much in the way of crowd noise, so explain to your offensive line that there’s no need to jump too early against a Chargers team that has yet to win a game.
If the Eagles are lucky, about 10,000 Eagles fans could make a difference in terms of that Chargers offense actually hearing their own snap count – I can’t believe that I’m writing about a topic that still seems more satyrical than completely factual.
No, Southern California has never been known to be big supporters of professional football. Making matters worse is the fact that the California economy is in worse shape than it’s ever been in, so those with tickets for a Chargers game are all-too-happy to sell those puppies for a pretty penny to any and all visiting fans.
For Eagles fans this might not mean much of a discount, but play your cards well because you do have the leverage here. Remember that the Chargers are winless and that most of their true fans feel completely betrayed. They’re bitter following this relocation of their team and will generally remain about 90 minutes south on I-5. They need the money more than you do and I wouldn’t overpay one cent to get into this game. If you don’t like the price from one dealer, go to another source because there certainly will be one.
It’s a buyers market in Los Angeles for this week four contest and the Eagles should stay in complete control while maintaining at least a share of first place in the NFC East with a record of 3-1 come Sunday evening.