Many students at de Toledo were extremely excited when the Rams moved to Los Angeles this 2016-2017 NFL season. Sadly, their hopes of a competitive football team were dashed as the Rams ended the season with a horrendous 4-12 record.

But don’t despair. There is a new team in that will be playing its football games in the City of Angels: the San Diego Chargers. This probably sounds good at first, but then you realize you now have two losing teams that moved to Los Angeles so they could garner a larger fanbase while they are in rebuilding mode.

In other words, Los Angeles has a large market for sports teams because of the enormous amount of sports fans in the area, and losing teams like the Rams and Chargers have decided to exploit this while they perform atrociously.

And, won’t you know it, the Chargers were almost as bad as the Rams last year, with a 5-11 record that involved losing countless games in the fourth quarter, including a botched field goal from kicker Josh Lambo that cost them a win against the Cleveland Browns. This gave the miserable Browns their sole win of the entire season.

Though this may sound like a terrible situation, there is one good thing about this, which is that within a few years, the rebuilding Chargers and Rams will once again be competitive and have a chance at winning a Super Bowl.

I could write about this move on and on, but the students and faculty of de Toledo also have lots to say on the subject. Some of the input is very positive, while some is pessimistic.

One student who is delighted is sophomore Aaron Heisen. The lifelong Chargers fan had this to say: “For the last 15 years I have dreamed that the Chargers would move to LA and my wish has finally come true.”

While many Chargers fans are excited, others point out that the team is leaving an entire fan base in San Diego. When asked about the Chargers moving to Los Angeles, Mr. Chang, Math teacher and Head Speech and Debate Coach, said, “I think San Diego fans are getting shafted. I don’t think we need a second team to not care about, people are already low on the Rams right now.”

Indeed, this is a large issue in sports, because the entire San Diego fanbase is being left without a football team to root for. The fans themselves are irate over what has happened, and some even destroyed Chargers memorabilia in front of team offices.

de Toledo senior Cory Blumstein also commented on the effects the move may have on San Diego. “I know it’s that they wanted to move to Los Angeles, but a football team does a lot for the community, so I think the Chargers leaving San Diego will impact the city of San Diego.”

Cory makes a good point. San Diego has had a major homelessness problem over the years, being home to the fourth largest homeless population in the country, estimated at 8,742. So now that the Chargers are moving to Los Angeles, that number will most likely increase due to less revenue coming in from a major sports franchise.

But onto greener and more lighthearted pastures. The Chargers logo has been a source of criticism around the globe, as it looks like a blend of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Lightning logos.

The Chargers fan Aaron Heisen even admitted that the logo is “the grossest thing I’ve ever seen and it isn’t original because it looks exactly like the Dodgers logo. I think I could make a better logo than they did.”

There is a lot to say about the Chargers moving to Los Angeles, but I hope there is one lesson that sticks with you. You may not like the Chargers, but they are here to stay, so appreciate them while you can.