Chargers upset the Seattle Seahawks
Following the move to Los Angeles, one would think the Chargers don’t have fans, evident in the often opponent-heavy support at home games in Carson. This wasn’t always the case, however, and any fan who got to experience their final years in San Diego likely remembers the best of what it meant to be a Chargers fan. Though the team would not play in a different city until 2016, it was the Chargers’ stand at home against the defending Super Bowl champions in 2014 that represented one of the last triumphant moments in Qualcomm Stadium.
It was my first introduction to Seahawks fans, the famous “12th man” that rocked stadiums. Following a Super Bowl annihilation of the Denver Broncos, Pete Carroll and his vaunted defense were ready to wipe out the Chargers on the road. Just the week before, the Seahawks crushed NFC-favorite Green Bay Packers 36-16; why should the 9-7 Chargers team pose much of a threat? Nearly every pundit picked the Seahawks to win, with Cris Carter admitting he would apologize to Philip Rivers on live television if they won. Seattle fans ran thick through the stands, voicing their war chants and hoisting the biggest flag I’ve ever seen an opposing fan base bring to a game. It was loud, it was exciting, and it was hot. So very, very hot.
Sitting in the stands (P20 Row 17 Seats 3 and 4, thank you) was great because of the overhead shade, but the players were stuck in a valley of heat. The game started in favor of the Seahawks, with one of the worst reviewed calls I’ve ever seen giving a clearly out-of-bounds Percy Harvin a 51-yard touchdown to take a 7-3 lead. Game on. A deficit against the Seahawks was terrifying; who do you throw against to mount any kind of comeback? This was a prime Legion of Boom unit, historically one of the best defenses of all time.
Someone didn’t tell Antonio Gates.
Touchdown, right over Kam Chancellor. Nice, let’s hope it continues. Rivers scrambled, hits Gates in the corner for another touchdown. Wait, what’s going on, the Chargers are winning? Rivers scrambles again (he ran for 102 yards in 2014) and gets a first down off of a Seahawks penalty. Scrambles once more, hits Gates in double coverage, touchdown.
The Seahawks were melting while the Chargers were on fire. After a clutch fourth-quarter stop by the defense, which was outstanding all game, the Chargers kicked a field goal. And then it happened: That obnoxious-to-everyone-else, trumpets-blaring, possibly older than all of us song kicked in. You know it: San Diego, Super Chaaargers. Clad in all white, fans were singing and dancing.
Cris Carter would later apologize.