Rams, Chargers say there’s no rivalry as L.A. teams prepare for first meeting
LOS ANGELES — During the NFL’s 21-year absence from Los Angeles, the area’s professional football fans survived just fine. They watched the best game of each week on television, and they rooted for their favorite teams from afar.
Or more likely, they just went to the beach.
Now that the Rams have returned and the Chargers have arrived to saturate the nation’s second-largest market with a home game nearly every weekend, Los Angeles fans have a wealth of football at their doors.
What L.A. doesn’t have is a true local rivalry — not yet, and maybe not ever.
The Chargers (1-1) and the Rams (2-0) will meet on the Coliseum field Sunday for the first time since their relocations. The players and coaches on both sides agree that any attempt to portray this Week 3 schedule quirk as a fight for the city’s heart would be a cheesy ploy of marketing or motivation.
“Not at all, not at all,” Rams defensive lineman Michael Brockers said when asked if there’s a rivalry.
“I still think they are San Diego,” Brockers added. “I still say San Diego Chargers, you know, so I don’t think it’s going to ever be a rivalry. I think we’re just sharing a city and sharing a stadium. I don’t think it will ever be turning into anything serious. … Two different conferences. Two different divisions. I think them being so far away, they’re in Orange County, we’re all the way up here (in Ventura County), so we never see them. There’s just no conflict.”
Although they’ll be roommates in a multi-billion-dollar Inglewood stadium complex in 2020, Los Angeles’ two franchises are divided by conference alignment, a lack of history — even the 94 miles of freeway traffic between their training bases in Thousand Oaks and Costa Mesa.
They’re unlikely to meet much more often than once every four seasons under NFL scheduling policies. As the 49ers and Raiders can attest, that’s not a recipe for a rivalry, even if the teams also schedule an annual preseason meeting.
“It’s hard to have a true rivalry (with) a team once every four years,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers said. “I think as players in the locker room, we see it as a fight for game No. 3. You know, find a way to get to 2-1. So it’s something I guess both teams are obviously getting used to, with both being in the same area. But I don’t sense that they’re becoming a huge rival, because you’re not going to see them twice a year. You’re not going to see them every year.”
So don’t expect a crackling derby atmosphere at the Coliseum. Instead, expect a highlevel game between two potential Super Bowl contenders.
L.A. might not have a rivalry, but it has two solid teams coming off winning seasons in 2017. Both clubs’ offenses and defenses are ranked in the league’s top 10, and both rosters are fairly stacked with stars and compelling matchups.
Rivers has never been afraid to throw at former Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters, who has intercepted passes from the veteran quarterback four times in their six matchups. On the other side, Chargers pass-rushing phenom Melvin Ingram will be in pursuit of Jared Goff, who will attempt to get his throws past cornerback Casey Hayward.
Add up the two-team collection of Pro Bowl talent from Aaron Donald to Keenan Allen, and this inaugural crosstown showdown has the potential for high excitement — even if the raw emotions of a true rivalry just aren’t there.
“I’m glad L.A. has got two teams, but it doesn’t matter,” Peters said. “Come on. They’re in the AFC. We’re in the NFC.”