Chargers move leaves former player conflicted

The Los Angeles Chargers are moving on from San Diego, forgetting the fans and former players left behind. Hank Bauer sounds off on the topic.

The San Diego Chargers are no more. Once old is now new again, with the Chargers moving up the coast to Los Angeles, the city that hosted the team in its inaugural 1960 season.

San Diego is left to be a one-team town, filled with legions of fans who feel cheated by the Spanos ownership. The Chargers will soon move into the StubHub Center before eventually sharing a new stadium with the Los Angeles Rams in 2019. It will be weird at first, but as the years pass, few outside of San Diego will care about the city left behind.

For all the time we talk about the fans being cheated, though, we forget about the men who actually wore the uniform. Hank Bauer, who played for the Chargers from 1977-82, is still wading through his emotions on the subject.

“Twenty eight years as a player, coach and broadcaster,” Bauer said. “I’m hurt. I’m disappointed. Now I know how kids feel like whose parents are going through a divorce. You’re sitting there, and there is nothing you can do about it. I love them both. I love the city. I love the team.”

Bauer, who has lived in San Diego since signing with the team in 1977, knows things will be different. The history will go with the team, but how many in the Chargers’ new city will care? Bauer is beloved in San Diego, having been one of the best special teams players in NFL history (Bauer was named to the franchise’s 40th and 50th Anniversary teams based on those merits). Come September, the team will be playing in a glitzy metropolis that cares little for the hard worker, and more for the stars.

Still, Bauer plans on supporting the team that moved two hours north. For him, it’s beyond civic ties.

“I have a lot of friends from the top to the bottom of that organization,” Bauer said. “They are more like family members. So will I root for them? Absolutely, from the equipment guys to the owners. I want nothing but great things from the Chargers. But make no mistake about it, I’m a San Diego Charger.”