Los Angeles Chargers

After the Raiders moved back to Oakland in 1995, the second-largest city in the United States once again found itself without an NFL football team, despite a clear love for the sport evident among many Angelinos. When Los Angeles finally succeeded in finding one franchise that would agree to relocate to the City of Angels, they also simultaneously succeeded in finding a second. The two teams expressing interest in the move were the St. Louis Rams (who had once actually been the Los Angeles Rams, long ago) and San Diego Chargers (who had long ago played their inaugural season in 1960 as the Los Angeles Chargers). Being Los Angeles, the city opted for both options almost simultaneously, bringing the Rams to Tinseltown in 2016 followed by the Chargers in 2017. Unfortunately for the Chargers, this seems to have resulted in the Rams overshadowing them both in terms of attracting fans and performing on the field, despite the two teams sharing SoFi Stadium. While the Los Angeles Chargers have made it to the postseason just twice since their move from San Diego, the Rams have played in two Super Bowls since their own move from St. Louis, winning the second in a rare home field Super Bowl in the teams’ shared SoFi Stadium. Many have compared the situation to the Lakers and Clippers of the NBA, who also happen to share a single venue. The Chargers did make the playoffs in 2022 and look poised to return in 2023, so maybe there are glimmers of hope for the franchise. Whether or not the Chargers can emerge from the shadow of their own city rivals in the future or not is still yet to be seen.