The Chargers avoided having their regular-season opener blacked out in San Diego when the brand-new, local FOX affiliate bought the balance of the unsold tickets.
The team announced the development today.
Typically, CBS will televise Chargers games. But when they host an NFC team, FOX has the game.
“Charger fans all around San Diego are excited to see this new season begin. Now every fan not attending the game will be able to see it on Fox 5 San Diego”, said Ray Schonbak, Fox 5 San Diego vice president and general manager. ”Fox 5 San Diego is the new home for the ‘NFL on Fox’ and we are thrilled to kick off the season and showcase the Chargers’ home opener this Sunday. It’s important that all fans be able to enjoy this game. Go Chargers!”
Yeah, go Chargers! They’re an elite NFL team, and they can’t even sell out their own stadium. Go Chargers, indeed. To another city.
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wock, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 4:49 pm
How about a little investigative reporting Florio… did the Chargers (like almost every other NFL team) jack up ticket prices this off season???
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Rating: 1.35 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
zuke583, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 4:50 pm
“Yeah, go Chargers! They’re an elite NFL team, and they can’t even sell out their own stadium IN WEEK F’ING 1. Go Chargers, indeed. To another city.”
fixed
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Rating: 3.15 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
alamedaman, a Division Champ, on 9/5/08 at 4:58 pm
haha no one likes the Chargers. Leave san diego and go to San Antonio.
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Rating: 3.4 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
Favre2012, a Conference Champ, on 9/5/08 at 5:07 pm
Dear Chargers,
Welcome to LA. Nice to have you here.
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Rating: 3.3 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
Toad, a Rookie, on 9/5/08 at 5:09 pm
Now, if they’ll just give those tickets to the local military, they’ll have knocked it out of the park!
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Rating: 4.85 / 5 with 10 rating(s)
getfresh, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 5:10 pm
The Chargers have something like 55,000 season ticket holders and a waiting list for more. The unsold seats are obstructed view and not worth buying, yet they count towards the blackout “sellout” number.
It’s the stadium, not the fans. Look it up.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 13 rating(s)
Rivers2Gates, a Passionate Fan, on 9/5/08 at 5:14 pm
getfresh is correct. welcome to reality. people don’t wanna pay out the ass for shitty seats. and yes, the charger’s organization is, I am afraid, to blame for it.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
aec4, a Water Boy, on 9/5/08 at 5:18 pm
getfresh: Then they should show a tarp over those seats. If they need a contractor to help, they can call the Jags.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
TheBozforPres, a Division Champ, on 9/5/08 at 5:23 pm
LT was gonna buy the tickets, but he bumped his knee on the coffee table and couldn’t leave his house.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
MrJJ, a Rookie, on 9/5/08 at 5:26 pm
The unemployment rate increased again this month. Gas is still high. Food and dairy products have gone up. It’s hard for people to survive in this economy right and I’m sure the Chargers vs. Panthers isn’t #1 is some people’s houses.
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Rating: 2.35 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
cameron, a Passionate Fan, on 9/5/08 at 5:27 pm
hey florio..
shut up
the stadium sucks and all the good seats are already taken
i would rather watch it hd in my living room where i can actually see what is going on and drink a beer that doesnt cost 8 dollars
i mean common your a reporter (sorta)
act like a professional
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Rating: 2.9 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
bcmcknight77, a Head Coach, on 9/5/08 at 5:29 pm
Now what would be cool is if they gave the tickets to a bunch of local orphanages or underprivileged kids programs. Hopefully those clever execs at Fox thought of that and are executing it right now.
Fack….who am I kidding. Fox execs? They probably set the tickets on fire to lower their summer heating bill. In San Diego.
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Rating: 2 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
Ghost MkII, a Passionate Fan, on 9/5/08 at 5:30 pm
That’s always a low blow when teams put seats right behind poles or other obstructions. Apparently the San Diego public just refuses to be taken advantage of anymore, and its quite a nasty shot to threaten blackouts if people aren’t willing to sacrafice themselves and pay for seats where they can’t see.
However the solution here seems reasonable. The TV station that would have suffered advertising money losses from the blackout decided to invest in the seats instead of loosing that money. I guess that ends up working out ok.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
Gamelgrash, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 5:33 pm
Florio, your comments about this situation are obviously driven by your hatred of the Chargers, and not facts. As someone else mentioned, these are horrible seats in a BAD, OLD stadium. Do you really think they’d have a problem selling out if they had a NEW stadium???
We have a classic chicken/egg situation. They aren’t selling out because no one wants those shitty seats, but they can’t get great seats (all of them) without a new stadium.
Have you even been to the Q? It’s a hole. You really need to investigate before you offer an opinion.
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Rating: 3.75 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
sjt2115, a Passionate Fan, on 9/5/08 at 5:42 pm
GetFresh and R2G are right. No Charger fan in their right mind wants to plunk down $100 a pop, plus parking and food, to sit in the worst seats imaginable. These horrible seats cost as much, or more, than much better seats which were sold out years ago.
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Rating: 2.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
prettyhatemachine, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 5:42 pm
You have a top notch playoff caliber team and you can’t even sell out the opener… That is pathetic!
Signed,
The Tampa Bay Rays
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Rating: 3.85 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
kingred007, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 5:57 pm
The chargers have raised there ticket prices more over the past three years than any other team.
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mark0226, a Water Boy, on 9/5/08 at 5:58 pm
getfresh says: The Chargers have something like 55,000 season ticket holders and a waiting list for more. The unsold seats are obstructed view and not worth buying, yet they count towards the blackout “sellout” number.
Please don’t confuse them with facts. Much better they remain ignorant.
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humbolt, a Rookie, on 9/5/08 at 5:59 pm
Anybody who follows the Chargers knows those seats are not sellable. Nobody is going to pay NFL ticket prices to sit behind a pole. The team needs to just rope them off and remove them from the inventory. That will solve this misperception that San Diego fans don’t support the Chargers.
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sandiegocat, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 6:04 pm
San Diego fans are pathetic finger pointers. Always have an excuse…Lost to the Jets because it rained…Shawne Merriman AKA Steve Lattimer isn’t as good because the NFL won’t let him juice anymore.
On a serious note doesn’t The City of Industry Chargers kinda have a nice ring to it.
Bet you miss the ticket guarantee!!!
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
snb8818, a Passionate Fan, on 9/5/08 at 6:20 pm
why are people getting defensive over these comments? this is a BLOG, not espn.com
Get real people. And if the people hassling florio are charger fans, who are you to argue? If youre a real fan you were there about 5-6 years ago when the team wasnt good and the team didnt exist in the minds of everyone down there let alone sell out their games. Hell, more raiders fans showed up to those OAK/SD games than charger fans.
Face it: SD has some real fans, but youre crazy if youre gonna try to defend all of them. The city is extremely fairweathered. Its just the truth, real fans of a superbowl calibur team with an MVP flock to games, not fear blackouts.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
DanFoutsBeard, a Water Boy, on 9/5/08 at 6:27 pm
The stadium is jacked from 3 add ons for superbowls and there are many obstructed view seats. They use the blackout threat to try and scare people into buying them, but no one does and the network will get them. So if we had 200 more fans willing to spend $75 to see half the field, then we deserve to keep the team. You are an A-hole.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
beastmode, a Passionate Fan, on 9/5/08 at 6:28 pm
a strong fan base sells out all its seats in week one regardless of how old the stadium is or even if you have an obstructed view. Lots of stadiums have obstructed views and sell all the seats. Who doesn’t got to a game because a stadium is old and actually still call themselves a fan?
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baddass4444, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 6:28 pm
I just want to add something as a Chargers fan and someone who probably knows what is going on more than the idiots in the media who keep writing about this story…
Tickets at this stadium are often not sold in specific places because they are completely horrible seats, that have an obstructed view, and are not even close to being worth what they are sold for. In fact, this happens alot with the Chargers, the local CBS affiliate or a radio station will buy the remaining tickets to broadcast the game. I would also like to add that Chargers Season Tickets sold out in the blink of an eye, which is what should be looked at here, those are the devoted fans!
Please, please do your research before slamming something you probably don’t know much about… That goes for all the media stations picking up on this story…
PS - Normally Profootballtalk has been a great site to me with no complaints, but it is clear that Mike Florio, among others in the media, haven’t necessarily done their research here.
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Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
Vox Veritas, a Hall of Famer, on 9/5/08 at 6:34 pm
It’s California. Offer free latte and biscotti and they’ll sell out every week.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 2 rating(s)