From the very second the Los Angeles Chargers decided to abscond from San Diego, they have been the butt of attendance jokes from the rest of the league. While LA does have a healthy contingent of Raiders, 49ers, and Cowboys fans, the Los Angeles Rams making fun of LA is the definition of the pot calling the kettle black.
The Rams may have arrived in LA first and have had more postseason success, but their attendance was essentially even last year despite the Rams taking home a Super Bowl. Even getting a ring wasn't enough to pack the SoFi seats full of yellow and blue jerseys in the season opener.
In the first game of the year against Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills, not only were the Rams bludgeoned by a team that looks destined to coast through the AFC, but they had to deal with rival crowd noise in their own home stadium. Buffalo and LA are as far away as humanly possible, but it felt like a Bills game.
The sea of blue and red jerseys and cheers whenever Allen would do something magical had to feel good for Chargers fans that are sick of the Rams treating them like second-class citizens. LA can't even pack the house when they're winning the Super Bowl!
The herd is ready.#BillsMafia @WGRZ pic.twitter.com/wqIciol45R
— Robert Hackford (@Robert_Hackford) September 8, 2022
The Chargers had to laugh at Bills fans taking over the Rams' opener.
The Rams may have been eighth in home attendance last year, but the Chargers came in at No. 10. It turns out that playing in a soccer stadium was not as conducive to creating a deadly home environment as a state of the start multi-billion dollar palace. Shocker!
Those Rams seats are going to be relatively barren near the end of the season if Sean McVay continues to perform like this. Matthew Stafford was intercepted three times and struggled to distribute the ball to anyone on the team not named Cooper Kupp. Those LA fans might be a tad bit fickle.
The Chargers, on the other hand, are in their ascending period. Justin Herbert remains one of the most marquee attractions in all of football, and a much-improved defense should be able to help LA make it to the postseason. That should ignite interest in some fair-weather fans.
The Rams might have the worst fanbase in sports. Thursday night opener as Super Bowl champs and they still get their stadium overrun by Bills fans. They never should have been moved to LA.
— Max (@MadMaxMKE) September 9, 2022
The Chargers have to face many of the same issues that other relocated teams have, especially when moving to a gigantic media market that has already lost multiple teams in the past. Despite all their hype, the Rams are in the same boat.