Chargers' Move To Los Angeles Lampooned By Other Sports Teams
(CBS SF) – On Thursday, the San Diego Chargers officially announced they would leave for Los Angeles after 55 years. While longtime Chargers fans were understandably angry over the move, other sports teams lampooned the move and the team's new logo.
The logo, which features an interlocking L.A. with a lightning bolt on a blue background, looked like a blend of the logos of MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers and NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning.
And now the @Chargers updated logo: pic.twitter.com/SSr5l42SiU
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) January 12, 2017
The similarities weren't lost with the people running the Twitter accounts of both teams.
*checks mentions*
— x - Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 12, 2017
*squints*
*clears throat*
for the record, us & the @dodgers are just friends https://t.co/jBoJhZlYVD
you said you'd call.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 12, 2017
oh, honey.
— x - Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) January 12, 2017
Another NHL team, the Dallas Stars, joked about stealing the logo of the Cowboys.
new logo. hope this is cool, @dallascowboys pic.twitter.com/cCBPHjqWxP
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) January 12, 2017
The Indianapolis Colts, a team that infamously left Baltimore one night in 1984, tweeted a logo with a lightning bolt added.
We'll pass. pic.twitter.com/4iQeDmtt81
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) January 12, 2017
The mocking went international, with Bayern Munich of the German Bundesliga weighing in.
BREAKING: #FCBayern will NOT be relocating to Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/QJpbxHYEUM
— ???????? FC Bayern US ???????? (@FCBayernUS) January 12, 2017
Even Minor League Baseball teams and college athletic programs couldn't resist.
We're not ones to fall behind the times. pic.twitter.com/IUuKvO2KUk
— Montgomery Biscuits (@BiscuitBaseball) January 12, 2017
Join us for Welcome Back @Chargers Night on Friday, August 18th! #Chargers #ChargersToLA pic.twitter.com/VbLoNJXJmy
— Inland Empire 66ers (@66ersBaseball) January 12, 2017
So you think the new #Chargers logo looks like the #Dodgers logo? Just be glad they didn't follow through on that rumored move to Rancho. pic.twitter.com/O2DY1E7SMQ
— Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (@RCQuakes) January 12, 2017
BREAKING: #EMUEagles debut new logo in honor of Chargers move to LA #Chargers pic.twitter.com/bgmRG35mUz
— Eastern Michigan Athletics (@EMUAthletics) January 12, 2017
Are we doing this right? pic.twitter.com/OwDBuCdyDH
— SMU FootbaIl (@SMUFB) January 12, 2017
In response, the Chargers are now saying the logo is a working one and that it would not appear on the relocated team's uniforms.
Source: Chargers logo is a working logo and has not been approved by the NFL.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 12, 2017
The @Chargers told me this is NOT their new logo- you won't see it on helmets or uniforms... it was for marketing purposes today. pic.twitter.com/xZaucUmYgT
— Liz Habib (@LizHabib) January 12, 2017
everything will stay the same - bolt and colors and logo- only thing that changes is "LA" Chargers
— Liz Habib (@LizHabib) January 12, 2017
The Chargers announced their move to Los Angeles after voters in San Diego last November rejected spending $1.15 billion in taxpayer money for a new stadium.
The new-look Chargers are expected to play at the StubHub! Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson for two seasons. In 2019, the Chargers are expected to move into an all-new stadium in Inglewood with the Rams, who moved to back Los Angeles last year after two decades in St. Louis.
Tim Fang is a digital producer for CBS San Francisco. A native of the Bay Area, follow him on Twitter @fangtj.