Chargers Players Rip Weak Home Crowd and Playing of Steelers' Anthem During Game
The Los Angeles Chargers got embarrassed Sunday night in primetime. Not only did the Bolts lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers and a third-string quarterback, their stadium was taken over by a mass of opposing fans. Chargers players are not happy about the crowd or the fact that the in-stadium PA system played the Steelers' adopted anthem to open the fourth quarter.
As part of a joke to "Rick Roll" fans of the Steelers, the PA system at Dignity Health Sports Park played the opening bars of "Renegade" by Styx. That song is the Steelers' unofficial anthem. After a few lines, it morphed into "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley, but by the time that happened, the boisterous crowd packed with Steelers fans was going nuts and drowned it out.
The Chargers players were not thrilled.
Melvin Gordon had the following to say about the crowd and the music selection:
""It was crazy. They started playing their theme music. I don't know what we were doing -- that little soundtrack, what they do on their home games. I don't know why we played that.""
Gordon continued:
""I don't know what that was. Don't do that at our own stadium. ... It already felt like it was their stadium. ... I don't understand that."
Offensive lineman Forrest Lamp piled on with a shot at the Chargers' typically awful home crowd before addressing the music selection:
""We're used to not having any fans here. It does suck, though, when they're playing their music in the fourth quarter. We're the ones at home. I don't know who's in charge of that, but they probably should be fired.""
Oh man, "we're used to not having any fans here," is an absolute dagger of a statement from Lamp.
Sunday night was a massive embarrassment for the Chargers and for the NFL. The Bolts are well into their third season in Los Angeles yet their stadium is taken over by opposing fans on a near-weekly basis. The crowd for Sunday's game was insane, as it appeared to be 90 percent Steelers fans.
It's increasingly clear the Chargers have no traction in LA and Gordon and Lamp echoed that by their shots at their home crowds and the music selection.