No place like a home for Chargers

Philip Rivers is honest but prudent.

His plan was to say nothing. He tried.

“I just better not,” he said. The question was about Sunday’s crowd at the StubHub Center, the most decidedly pro-opponent turnout yet among the three consecutive home games the Los Angeles Chargers have played.

But he doesn’t like to not give an answer. Candor is part of his charm.

“It’s certainly not ideal,” he said. “I don’t think it compares with other teams having three straight home games. It’s tough.”

Sunday’s 26-24 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in front of a crowd at least 70 percent comprised of fans clad in midnight green garb was perhaps the worst optic yet in the Chargers’ thus-far disaster of a move.

The Chargers are 0-4 — a mess on the field, a joke off of it.

And in the moments after his first time arriving at a season’s quarter pole without a victory, Rivers’ mind was racing.

His obvious frustration warred with his inherent optimism.

His loyalty to team won out over anything else.

He took blame on a day in which he threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He specifically said the offense’s woes were not attributable to the crowd noise. He, as anyone who has been following him would expect, pointed out the Chargers have lost two games by two points and another by three.

“I’m just going to keep plugging away,” he would say later. “It’s all I know how to do.”

This, though, is clearly wearing on the Chargers quarterback, among others in the locker room.

He’s not complaining. He’s not saying it should be any different. He’s merely spitting truth.

“I appreciate the Chargers fans that were here,” Rivers said. “And I don’t want to insult the ones that aren’t. Who am I to say how they should spend an afternoon? It’s just not a home game.”

This is no longer a shock. Three home games in, and this isn’t funny — not when you see the position the Chargers players have been put in.

The reality of the Chargers playing in a toy stadium with a high school locker room is neither quaint nor curious. Their being in Los Angeles — whose citizens have about 200 other things on their minds before they yawn, cock their heads and notice there is a second NFL team among them and then shrug — is not merely surreal.

It’s a travesty.

Oh, it’s a perfect Hollywood story more fitting than even the most bitter Chargers fan could write. It’s exactly what the Spanos family, which moved this team out of San Diego, deserves.

But it’s not right.

It’s not even certain winning would fix what is happening here.

Ticket brokers clearly bought up the bulk of season tickets at StubHub. The pricing plan was obviously a mistake, too. The people who could afford to go to Chargers games are the not of the ilk that supports losers.

It was bad enough Sunday that the Eagles took to trolling the Chargers on Twitter postgame with a picture of a postcard that read, “Greetings from Carson California” with a tweet that said, “We wish you were here, but it sounds like most of you were.”

That was impressive. Good teamon-team Twitter smack must be appreciated.

But it wasn’t as vicious as what happened during the game.

Eagles fans absolutely took over with sporadic shouts of “Defense” and the frequent “E-A-G-L-E-S” chant and at least one “Cowboys suck” chant.

When the scoreboard would implore fans to chant “Let’s go Chargers,” all that could be heard was “Let’s go Eagles.”

The referee was booed for a pass interference call against the Eagles.

Said Eagles running back Corey Clement: “It was unbelievable.” But it wasn’t.

It’s the Chargers’ reality. And, golly, it’s going to be good to get on the road and play the New York Giants on Sunday.

“Heck yeah,” Rivers said. “I can’t wait. We know what to expect when we go on the road. You know you’re fixing to go in there, and there will be 60,000 crazy fans for the other team.”

They know what to expect at home now, too. It’s the way it is.