NBC 7’s Derek Togerson takes a look at the final practice the Chargers will hold in San Diego in this commentary
The Chargers held their final practice in San Diego on Thursday, the conclusion of their mandatory mini-camp. The next time they take the field will be in Orange County when training camp starts at the end of July. Tell me if the following resonates with any of you Chargers fans past or present.
Driving to the facility and walking around with a camera for the final time I was wondering what emotions would bubble up. Nostalgia? Sadness? Anger?
It’s hard to predict how the human heart will respond to a situation. However I was completely unprepared for what I felt on Thursday:
Nothing.
There was no frustration causing the bile to rise in the back of the throat. There was no wistful recollection like a high school graduation. It was just work. Business as usual.
Maybe it’s because we’ll still be around the team and watching L.T. enter the Hall of Fame and covering games for the coming season. Maybe it’s because all the emotions have been flushed out over six months of dealing with the move (a lot longer if you go back to Houston in January of 2016).
Perhaps I simply don’t have enough energy left to care. Or maybe I’ve followed the emotional timeline that Nick Hardwick followed where there was a pure, raw, visceral response that wore off over time. I know I will always root for the guys on the field. 17, 85, 25 … those guys I will always wish to have success.
But that ownership group. Ew, that icky disgusting Spanos family. That group of clowns having good things happen and making money I will never, ever, ever root for.
If there’s a way for Philip Rivers to throw for 500 yards and 5 touchdowns every game but still have the Chargers lose 48-45 and go 0-16 that would be the best-case scenario. Yet none of that emotion entered the thought process on the field or came out on the final day of the final mini-camp that was the final workout in San Diego.
What does it mean? Who knows? I don’t have the capacity right now to try and diagnose that section of my psyche. Perhaps many of you feel the same way, like this is just another step in the process that we are all still trying to figure out. I’m sure this will continue to evolve as training camp starts and the regular season nears. Until then, football is out of sight and out of mind. Plus we have other things to think about.
Did you see that home run Hunter Renfroe hit???
