The Diaspora Fan: Watching preseason Chargers at 10:30 pm
By Ben Kaplan
With the first preseason game in the books, I am all charged up for my first column at Bolt Beat! I will be contributing as a diehard Chargers fan, who has followed the team for over 26 years but sadly lives over 3,000 miles away from L.A. New York City to be exact.
These posts will cover the team from the perspective of someone who is remote from the team and time zone.
It was exciting to see the latest version of the Chargers, with their new yellow face masks, against Kyler Murray and the Arizona Çardinals last Thursday night. I was grateful the game would actually be on TV (aired on NFL Network) and planned my evening around the 10:00 p.m. EST start time.
Now old enough where 10 p.m. is around bedtime, I was willing to stick it out for at least a quarter to see the newest powder blue, white and golds out there!
To my dismay, at 10 p.m. I had to stick with watching the EXHILARATING (read: sluggish) last 6:41 of the Buffalo Bills-Indianapolis Colts game. By 10:26 PM, NFL Network finally switched over just in time to see Justin Jackson’s three-four yard run and the close of the first quarter.
struck first. ⚡️@J_ManPrime21 | #BoltUp pic.twitter.com/bvQanzmuJW
— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) August 9, 2019
Debating whether to pass out or drink Red Bull, I (like I hope many of you) got to see a strong offense and pretty stout defense in the second quarter.
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Austin Ekeler continued to look like a stud (and the strongest pound for pound player on the team) with great catches and runs. Jackson showed he wasn’t messing around with his stout touchdown with 13:33 left. Tyrod Taylor showcased a truly dynamic scrambling quarterback (not that I don’t enjoy watching Phillip run as much as the next fan), and it was great to see Denzel Perryman hammering receivers over the middle.
As you may imagine, I did not go the Red Bull route and by midway through the second quarter, I found myself fast asleep. When I went to bed it was a beautiful 7-0. I woke up missing some crazy Cards comeback and the team’s newest quarterback Easton Stick with a dynamic touchdown run!
RUN, EASTON, RUN. ? pic.twitter.com/SMWYOnVtII
— Los Angeles Chargers (@Chargers) August 9, 2019
Such is life when your game starts a couple of hours before midnight on a Thursday, I guess.