Oceanside Chargers ???

In Southern California, the 2nd largest Megalopolis in the United States, there is but one football team . . . the San Diego Chargers. To the north LA & Orange counties somehow lost the Rams & the Raiders and don't seem to be able to muster support for an NFL team.

The Chargers have become Southern California's darlings . . . and yet San Diego is on the verge of losing the top team in the NFL. The precious real estate values along California's coastal communities are particularly acute in San Diego because of the topography, which contains precious few locations suitable for a complex big enough to accommodate a state-of-the-art NFL stadium, parking, public transportation and associated development.

For several years cities to the south of San Diego, notably National City and Chula Vista have courted the Chargers. The problem is that moving further south would put the team in the absolute southwest corner of the continental US and would exacerbate already existing traffic problems along the US - Mexican border. It would also further remove the Chargers from their fan base.

So this mornings headline story in the North County Times (San Diego's northern territory) announcing that negotiations were on to relocate the Chargers in Oceanside has enormous cultural implications.

Oceanside has long been viewed as a rural outpost for San Diego. Over the years it has maintained the reputation of a Marine town, with the gates of Camp Pendleton on the north side of town and 20-some miles of that base separating Oceanside from Orange and LA Counties to the north. So why should Oceanside be a top contender for the Chargers? The San Diego Union-Tribune says "Chargers 'serious' about city golf site".

The City of Oceanside is on the grow. California Cranes are constructing luxury hotels and condos all along it's coastline. More importantly Oceanside is now positioned as the "commuter transportation hub of Southern California."

Four separate commuter train services . . . Amtrak, Metrolink, Coaster & later this year Sprinter all stop in Oceanside. This little known public transit capability could be a major factor in drawing large NFL crowds to Oceanside without the customary traffic congestion so commonly associated with major league sports.

Oceanside may lay on the northern extreme of San Diego county but Oceanside is not just San Diego. As it's name implies, it is the quintessential Southern California surf city. Vidiots.us suggests that the relocated franchise, if it does materialize, be called the "Oceanside Chargers". Let it represent all of Southern California from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border.

We congratulate the New England Patriots on their playoff win over the Chargers and respectfully submit that if Boston is big enough to share the Patriots with all of New England than San Diego should not begrudge the Chargers from representing all of Southern California's oceanside communities.

We say "Oceanside Chargers . . . bring em on!"