Pro game returns to San Diego with AAF

SAN DIEGO >> Two years after the Chargers left their home of 56 seasons, pro football returned to San Diego on a cold, rainy winter Feb. 17, with a different dynamic mixed in with a beloved local tradition. On the field at SDCCU Stadium, the San Diego Fleet of the new Alliance of American Football, coached by San Diegan Mike Martz, played their home opener against the Atlanta Legends on a field drenched by repeated downpours. Out in the parking lot before the game, tailgaters of all persuasions — Chargers fans, ex-Chargers fans, Los Angeles Rams fans, Fleet fans — huddled under pop-up tents to drink beer, grill meat and enjoy loud music. Members of the Chargers fan group Bolt Pride set up a tailgate next to the Rams World Order, many of whose members cheered for the Rams before they left for St. Louis after the 1994 season, and then welcomed them back in 2016. “I’m from San Diego. I’ve got to represent my town, no matter what,” said Bolt Pride member Jorge Santiesteban, 38. “There’s disappointment that the Chargers left. I hate the owner of the team, you know what I mean? There’s nothing I can do. A lot of people stayed on board, a lot of people didn’t. I did. I’ve still got my season tickets. I support them 100 percent.” The Rams World Order fans were here to support Martz, who was with the Rams when they moved to St. Louis and was their offensive coordinator when “The Greatest Show on Turf” won the Super Bowl after the 1999 season, and receivers coach Az-Zahir Hakim, a former player with the Rams and San Diego State. “It’s all about football,” said Michael Martinez of Lake Elsinore, president of Rams World Order. “It’s kind of sad with the San Diego Chargers leaving for L.A., but it’s nice that San Diego has another football team. We’re here to represent, we’re here supporting Mike Martz, Az Hakim. Fellow Rams World Order member Greg Hill of San Diego said he was living in Orange County when the Rams, who at the time played in Anaheim, left for St. Louis. “We feel their pain,” he said, referring to fans of the San Diego Chargers who have declined to support them in L.A.