This has been one of the craziest weeks in San Diego sports history.
It was seven days ago, on Monday the 16th of February, that the Chargers and Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s appointed task force met face to face for the first time. Way back then in the BC days (that’s Before Carson), things seemed like they could proceed amicably, perhaps even swiftly.
But things are not always as they seem, now are they?
That meeting did not go well. The Chargers were upset with the Mayor for putting one of his political advisors in the room. Their contention was the task force is made up of civilians for a reason, so the last 13-plus years of politics can be left out.
So on Tuesday, Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani sent a four-page letter to the Mayor’s office voicing the football team’s displeasure. That move was met with Mayor Faulconer firing off a letter of his own to Chargers team president Dean Spanos complaining about Fabiani’s combative demeanor. Faulconer also offered a face-to-face meeting with Spanos to try and clear the air, an idea met with a positive reaction.
So, we all thought things were going nice and smooth again. Then Thursday night happened.
News of the Chargers planning to build a new stadium in Carson, CA, with the help of the Oakland Raiders, sent shockwaves through San Diego. The mayor said this is not how you do business. The Chargers said their hand has been forced by a slow process and the threat of the Rams moving to Los Angeles.
On Friday, folks in Carson even held what they called a press conference to announce their plans for the stadium. What it ended up being was a pep rally with no plans being revealed, most likely because the land purchase has not yet been completed and they have no actual finalized plans.
All that did was seed more confusion, fear, anger, and even hope among the San Diego fan base, which lit up social media so fantastically you’d have thought Kim Kardashian was leaving Kanye West and marrying Tim Tebow, and TMZ has pictures to prove it.
So, finally, on Sunday morning, Spanos and Faulconer got together for a chat they simply called “productive.” Now, whether or not that means the team president and the Mayor will tell their employees to play nice and get things done inside the three month time frame Faulconer has outlined we’ll see in the next few days.
What is interesting is … All of this took place in a seven-day span. All of it has a direct impact on what could be a monumental moment in San Diego’s history. And perhaps even more incredible is … this is only the beginning.
