In a sign that the Los Angeles Chargers are expecting a whole host of Oakland Raiders fans for their home game on Sunday, the team was seen pumping in crowd noise during practice to prepare for what promises to be a hostile environment at StubHub Center.
Practice notes: Chargers piping in crowd noise to prep for Raiders. WR Travis Benjamin has a pink cast on his right foot today. RT Joe Barksdale and LT Russell Okung out there.
— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) October 4, 2018
Sadly, this can’t be seen as too much of a surprise. Last week’s game against the San Francisco 49ers pretty much acted like a road date with the StubHub Center being filled with red and gold. The same happened earlier in the season against the Kansas City Chiefs.
This is becoming a pretty sad situation for the Chargers and the NFL. Ever since moving from San Diego, the organization just has not had the support it saw further south.
Whether this changes when the Chargers move into their new Hollywood Park location remains to be seen. But for now, they can expect to play the equivalent of 16 road games per season. That’s certainly a competitive disadvantage. Not to mention, the bad optics it brings for multiple entities.