Non Sequitor

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be at JFK waiting for my flight to Barcelona while CBS was broadcasting the game between the Denver Broncos and my team, the San Diego Chargers. This was the first football game I've had the opportunity to watch this season, and it was a good one because we won 48-20 (bringing our record to 11-2!!!!), clinched the division, AND our running back LaDainian Tomlinson broke the single-season NFL touchdown record.

LT runs for the record. (Photo courtesy ESPN.)

Being a San Diego sports fan is a labor of love. Our baseball team, the Padres, have until recently been saddled with notoriously ugly uniforms (leading them to be nicknamed the Tacos) and an even more notoriously ugly win-loss record. During my second year in New York, they shockingly made it to the World Series, only to be shut out by the Yankees in four straight games. Ouch. Now we have a cool new baseball stadium and a slightly better record, but still managed to perform dismally in the playoffs. And still, I am a faithful supporter.

Our basketball team, the Clippers, left us for LA when I was a kid. I'm still bitter, even though I don't actually remember it happening.

Our football team, the Chargers, are often basement-dwellers, though the last couple of seasons have been a bit brighter. And this year we are boasting a team the likes of which San Diego hasn't seen since the Dan Fouts / Kellen Winslow days of the early 80s. If they make the Superbowl (heck, if they make the playoffs) I will gladly forgo Sunday night sleep to watch them play wherever it may be possible to see an American football game here in Barcelona. Have faith, will travel.