Bolts fans have had their fair share of despair

There has been no scarier or traumatic experience in my life than being a fan of the Los Angeles Chargers. Whether it be the way they continuously find ways to lose games, the numerous amount of injuries that seem to always hit the team or the curse of team owner Dean Spanos.

Let’s start this off in 2006. The Chargers are in the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots, up eight points with just over six minutes left in the game. Marlon Mcree intercepts Tom Brady’s pass and all he has to do is fall down. Instead he tries to return it and fumbled the ball, the Pats recover, and the rest is history. The Chargers lost 24-21.

In 2010, the Chargers had the number one ranked offense and defense in the NFL. Somehow, that team failed to make the playoffs. This was due to the fact that the special teams unit was absolutely abysmal (and still is). They allowed four blocked punts, three kickoff returns for touchdowns and one punt return for a touchdown.

Fast forward to recent history (we’ll skip over the countless Phillip Rivers interceptions on comeback or game-winning drives) the Chargers still seem to specialize in building big leads and blowing it.

In week two against the Chiefs, the Chargers are up 17-9 in rookie quarterback Justin Herbert’s debut. Herbert has a chance to scramble for the first down and take the ball into the fourth quarter in the Chiefs red zone, instead he throws back across his body and it gets intercepted. They ended up losing in overtime after Harrison Butker made a 58-yard field goal.

Fast forward to week four against the Buccaneers, the Chargers are up 24-7 with the ball with less than a minute to go until halftime. Instead of taking a knee to go into half, they run the ball, fumble it and the Bucs recover. This led to a Tampa Bay touchdown and swung the momentum of the game. Another loss.

In week five against the Saints, they are up 20-3 in the first half. At this point, the Saints probably had the Chargers right where they want them. New Orleans stormed back to tie the game in the second half.

Herbert was able to lead the Chargers down the field for a potential game winning field goal attempt. However, Michael “the Money Badger” Badgely missed it, as the game went into overtime and LA lost another heartbreaker.

The final thing that pains me the most about this team is that my favorite player, Derwin James, has been limited to just five games in the last two seasons. He is out for the season with a torn meniscus after breaking his foot last season. The Chargers seem to be cursed when it comes to injuries, and it’s even more painful when it happens to your favorite player.

I am convinced that I am going to die early in life due to all of the stress the Chargers put me under when watching their games. I suppose I should be used to it at this point and should expect these type of performances to happen.