Chargers Enjoy Crowd Noise in First Home Game

The Los Angeles Chargers played their first regular season home game in Los Angeles on Sunday, and despite the small crowd at their temporary home in Carson, the place was pretty loud. At the end of the fourth quarter, LA kicker Younghoe Koo had a chance to win the game with a 44-yard field goal. The fans screamed as the cannons went off, but unfortunately, the kick was wide right and the Chargers lost.

This was the second straight week the Chargers lost on a missed field goal at the end of the game, which is something you should keep in mind when looking at online betting odds for the next Chargers game.

After the game, quarterback Philip Rivers said that he thought the energy the fans brought to the stadium was great. He added that the loudest roar he heard was at the end, once Koo missed the game-winning field goal.

According to ESPN, the reaction after the missed field goal was the loudest of the day, registering at 106.1 decibels. For comparison, the average volume during an NFL game is in the mid-90’s decibel range, with the loudest noise on record belonging to the Kansas City Chiefs, who registered 142.2 decibels, a couple of seasons ago.

During the Chargers game, there were 12 times when the noise level broke 100 decibels, with five of those moments belonging to Dolphins fans.

For years, the Chargers have sometimes felt like the road team when they played at home, because of the low fan turnout to Chargers games in their final seasons in San Diego. The noise levels were worse for the Chargers when they played rivals like the Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, and Denver Broncos.

According to Rivers, visiting fans outnumbering the home fans is something Chargers players had to deal with a lot in San Diego, and the quarterback placed some of the blame on the weather.

Rivers noted that the weather is always nice in San Diego, making it a preferred destination of visiting fans. He added that when fans look at their team’s away schedule, the game against the Chargers was usually the most appealing because fans don’t have to worry about inclement weather, like they would if travelling to Denver or Kansas City.

Rivers and his teammates said it was great to hear the crowd get loud on third downs and whenever the team made a big play. Center Matt Slauson said it felt nice not to have to use their silent count at home, which is something they did a lot when they were in San Diego, because the visiting fans were too loud.

While the Chargers were happy they didn’t have to use their silent count at home, the Dolphins did not have to either, because the home crowd noise was not much of a factor.

Even though StubHub Center, a stadium built for the MLS’s Los Angeles Galaxy, only holds 27,000 people, the players were glad it was almost at capacity, with fans making noise. In their final years in San Diego, the Chargers had trouble filling 80 percent of the seats in Qualcomm Stadium.

With the team now having fans in their corner, Philip Rivers said it’s time to start winning some games.