SB Nation User Blog: Clip Show

Rivers to Jackson Winning TD

Clip Show — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:23:30 -0000

Rivers to Jackson Winning TD

An analysis of the Rivers to Jackson winning TD. A thing of beauty.

Chargers v. Giants - Clip Show's Perspective

Clip Show — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:21:57 -0000

So, let me just say, this past weekend has to rank pretty high up there among all-time sporting event experiences for me. Now, I have been to quite a few sporting events in my lifetime (Super Bowl 27 in SD, 1998 World Series game 4, 2002 World Series game 7, all Charger home playoff games since 2004), but this game is near the pinnacle.

           I arrived at JFK airport on Friday morning at 6am after taking a redeye flight from Orange County. As I boarded the train into Manhattan, I knew this weekend had the potential to be either really great, or really disappointing. The first thing I noticed on the train was what appeared to be an odd abundance of Yankee fans wearing an array of Yankee gear. Now, I know the Yankees just won the World Series, but this was a little different. I had read the day earlier that the Yankees were going to have their victory parade that Friday afternoon, and with it being so early, I had hoped to miss any residual people traffic when I took the train in. Only after I boarded the train and found no seat available (for my hour trip into the city) did I come to the realization that I was completely mistaken. This was definitely NOT the way I wanted to start my weekend (especially considering I absolutely detest the Yankees too).
           On Saturday afternoon, some family members and I decided to go to Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty. While waiting for the subway, I noticed a couple of guys wearing Chargers jerseys. We all boarded the same train, and they also happened to get off on our same stop. As we exited the subway, I asked the guys if they were going to the game and they said yes. They were from the east coast (not NY though), and I told them that I came out from CA just for the game, and they were impressed. This was my first sighting of people wearing Chargers gear, but definitely not the last. Things were looking up.
           We took a ferry to Liberty Island, and as we walked around the island, I noticed a few more people wearing Chargers gear. They appeared to already be excited for the game, because whenever they would see anyone wearing Chargers paraphernalia, they would call to them, give them high fives and yell "Go Chargers!". I was definitely not expecting that. But it was about to get even better. We waited in line for the next ferry to return to Manhattan, and as the ferry pulled in, a loud chant of "Let's go Chargers" rang out from ferry's top deck. There stood about 10 Charger fans wearing jerseys and all, yelling at the top of their lungs to all the Charger fans below waiting in line. It was awesome! People looked on, stunned as these rowdy Charger fans streamed off the ferry chanting and giving high fives. I had a feeling right there that tomorrow, game day, was going to be a great day.

           On gameday, I decided to take the train to the Meadowlands. At the train station, there were people everywhere wearing Giants or Chargers gear, with the ratio being about 5 to 1. I was dressed in my LT authentic home jersey, Chargers fleece jacket, Chargers beanie, and my Reebok Chargers shoes . People for the most part kept to themselves and everyone was pretty mellow. After a little train delay, we arrived at the Meadowlands, and the scene reminded me of the parking lot at the Q.
           The train to the stadium is a little unique in that it does an almost complete circle around the stadium before it stops, so you are able to get a pretty good view of the tailgating and stadium. For the most part, the place was packed, just as you would expect.
           I exited the train and now my priority was finding John. Smoke billowed upward from all the bbqs, radios were blasting, and not a Charger fan in sight. This is not good. I endured a little heckling and proceeded to make my way through the parking lot around the stadium. I am a pretty big guy (6'-2", 210 lb) so I was fairly comfortable walking around, expecting a little heckling while I searched for John.

As I reached some of the outer parking lots, I saw some more representation of the Chargers, which was definitely a little more comforting. Then I saw it. Four or 5 buses surrounded by a crowd of Chargers fans. This must be the tailgating party from MJ Armstrongs that I had heard about. It felt like I was in the Q parking lot for a second, but there wasn't much time for me to linger. I had to find John and get some beers in me; game time was only about an hour away.
After some more friendly heckling and more searching, I finally found John. A few beers later and I was in full tailgate mode. Patrick (calipatrick) and his fiancé ended up stopping by and we took some pictures.

(Patrick, his fiance, Mike, John and myself prior to the game)

Soon it was time to head into the stadium. John's friend Mike was accompanying us (as a bodyguard), and we had all consumed a decent amount of beers (some more than others). This was going to be fun.
Entering the stadium, Mike started heckling of his own. He starting chanting " J ...E....T...S....." or "Let's go Rangers!", and in typical New York fashion, people would tell him to shut the F up, or that he was a moron. All in good fun. The seats we had were awesome. Right around the 20 yard line in the second level.

(The coin flip)

John and I had a conversation about how Giants stadium was very similar to the Q (circular ramps on the outside, similar sight lines), except for the grass versus the artificial turf. It's almost ironic that the Giants (and the Jets) will be playing in a new stadium next year, and the Chargers will not. I guess that's the reward for winning a Super Bowl. The Chargers really need to get a new stadium deal done.
The game started and it was time to get serious. And by serious, I mean more beer drinking and more heckling from Mike. On one trip to the bathroom, a Giants fan even told me I needed to watch my friend (Mike) because he was going to get into trouble. Apparently this guy has never been to a Raiders v. Chargers game. Overall though, the Giants fans were well behaved and good-natured.

(Me, John and Mike)

Anyway, we all know how the game ended up. It was almost surreal to see our section half empty after the Chargers scored at the end, almost as if they all disappeared instantaneously as John, Mike and I screamed at the top of our lungs and celebrated the come from behind victory. As John mention in a previous post, the turnout of Charger fans was more than I think most people expected. And seeing Charger fans linger in the parking lot after the game savoring the victory made this trip that much better.

(The final play of the game...Luis Castillo pointing to the crowd as Shawne Merriman does his lights out dance, and Philip Rivers sprinting onto the field to join the celebration)

I want to thank John for the ticket to the game and for being the nicest guy I could imagine. Watching a game sitting next to him was truly enlightening. It is one thing to watch a game as a fan on your couch or in a bar, but watching with someone who is knowledgeable, is able to identify all the players on the field, recognize formations and plays, and generally "knows" football is almost like having the coach sit right next to you. It was an amazing experience and I thank you. John, when you come out for a Charger game, the beers are on me. And make sure to bring Mike as well, it wouldn't be the same without him.

CA Gov Approves LA Football Stadium waiver

Clip Show — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:02:47 -0000

CA Gov Approves LA Football Stadium waiver

They specifically mention the Chargers as one of the teams they will be targeting to move into their new stadium. This can't be good.

Yao possibly being out creates new trade opportunity?

Clip Show — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:18:46 -0000

According to this article from Yahoo, Yao is probably out this whole upcoming year, and quite possibly be done for his career. Does this all of a sudden make the Rockets the Clippers number one target for a trade partner? With Yao out, how attractive do Kaman or Camby look to them?....I want to say VERY attractive.

The Rockets are going to be hurting immensely from a lack of a center, and the Clippers just happen to have a glut of them. Now, if only the Clippers could get Battier in return (the proverbial consumate glue guy). This may turn out to be a win win situation for both.

I am all for trading Kaman if the prize is Battier, but I am not sure if the Rockets can include a PG/SG in the trade as well (it appears they are pretty thin at that position), but as the article states, they have been offering both Brooks AND Battier in some recent proposed trades. Does Kaman (and a pick?) for Battier and Brooks make sense? Or would you rather have Kyle Lowrey instead of Brooks (I think I would)? The trade machine says it works.

Vince Carter off to Orlando?

Clip Show — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:19:40 -0000

Vince Carter off to Orlando?

If this goes through, then Vince is off the table too.

Top Ten Draft Trades of all time - NFL.com

Clip Show — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:04:10 -0000

Top Ten Draft Trades of all time - NFL.com

Chargers check in twice here...featuring LT and PRivers.

A little help

Clip Show — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:34:13 -0000

Alright, Steve, I hope you don't mind me doing this, but I feel that since I have been around this blog for awhile, you wouldn't mind.

Over at the Chargers blog on the SBNation of blogs, BoltsFromTheBlue, there is a contest going on right now where the winner gets a free ticket to the Chargers v. New York Giants game in NEW YORK this upcoming November. I have entered in the contest, and it is coming down to a vote between 5 different people, myself being one of them. Currently I am trailing in the polls, and would love it if the Clipsnation community could help me out a little bit. All it requires is for you to go there ~~become a member of their blog and then~~ vote for me in the poll (if you so choose). Pretty simple.Voting ends tomorrow night.

And while you are there, be sure to read the blog of course. If you are a fan of football at all, this blog is a must read. John (obviousman) who does the majority of the writing is an excellent blogger. Thanks for looking. And Steve, if I have overstepped my bounds, feel free to delete this post. :D

Thanks for helping out a fellow citizen of the Clips nation!

Pick Me!

Clip Show — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:48:28 -0000

Ok, so here goes.

I would first like to start by going over the "criteria" that has been set in place.

Place to stay: Since I would be coming from SoCal (Irvine to be exact), this is an important issue. Luckily, I have a multitude of options. I can stay with my sister in law, an old college classmate or even an old high school classmate. They all live in Manhattan, and I have stayed with all of them before. My fourth option would be to stay with my old college roommate. He is currently the wide receivers coach at Army in West Point, but it is only an hour train ride from the city. More on him later.

Getting to NYC: Getting a flight would be my biggest expense, but since I can stay for free at some ones place, and have a free ticket, price really won’t be a factor here. Also, I can fly out of LAX, so I will have plenty of flight options.

Open Bar: I am definitely of drinking age, so this won’t be a problem. Actually, I think this will be part of the solution!

Charger Fan: Hmm..lets see. I have been a fan of the Chargers ever since I can remember (probably at around age 10 or so). My brother was a season ticket holder last year, and so naturally he and I made it to almost all of the games together. Prior to last year, I tried to make it down to at least one game a year, and definitely didn’t miss any playoff games at the Q. One of my biggest hobbies is collecting media guides, yearbooks and programs from the Chargers. I have over 70 different historical Chargers documents, so as you can tell I have invested a lot of time, energy and money in the Chargers.

Cold Weather: I used to live in Chicago, so I am well accustomed to cold weather. I look forward to busting out my circa 1994 Chargers parka. It rarely gets any use anymore, what with the great weather in SoCal and the global warming thing. :D

Face/Chest Painting: See above…I will be wearing my parka…so this should not be a problem.

    Now finally, back to my old college roommate (named Andy). Prior to last year, he was the wide receivers coach at Cal Poly SLO (SDSU football fans are well aware of this Div1AA powerhouse). Recently a CP receiver by the name of Ramses Barden was drafted by the Giants in the third round (the G-men even traded up to get to him). Ramses is a huge receiver, with the upside of being a Vincent Jackson/Malcom Floyd type. (It looks like he was drafted to replace Plaxico.)

    So, back to the point, Andy is still in constant contact with Ramses, even more so now that they will be right down the river from each other. I have already asked to see if there was anyway I could get some tickets to the Chargers/Giants game and he is working on it but I am not holding my breath. Who knows how much clout rookies have.

    Now Andy is from San Diego (played QB at Mission Bay HS) and even worked for the Chargers for a couple of summers during college, so needless to say he is a HUGE Chargers fan. While at Cal Poly, he had the opportunity to meet a lot of people in the Chargers organization for drafting purposes, and does have some good connections. If I do get picked for the free ticket, I will try with all my might to get Andy to set up a meet and greet with some Chargers players. This is what I can bring to the table if you pick me. Call it a bribe, but I prefer to call it gentle persuasion.

    Thanks for your time. :D

cal poly v sdsu (via jedimindtrx19)

I found this pic from the Cal Poly v. SDSU game last year and figured I should post it. I am the one behind the bench looking on (field passes were incredible). Andy is the guy with the headset and Ramses Barden is #11.

Eric Gordon named Western Conf. rookie of the month

Clip Show — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:42:07 -0000

Eric Gordon named Western Conf. rookie of the month

So does this mean his ranking among rookies will rise appropriately finally?

Suddenly, bloggers who cover the Clippers, Kings, Ducks and other local sports teams in Los Angeles...

Clip Show — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:41:56 -0000

Suddenly, bloggers who cover the Clippers, Kings, Ducks and other local sports teams in Los Angeles aren't just supplementing the coverage that's already out there. They are becoming the only coverage out there for their teams.

The incredibly shrinking L.A. media market