A Letter To The Avenger-In-Chief

We don't get nearly enough letters (or haikus) considering the enormous amount of passion that exists among San Diego Sports Fans. But on the day when that letter arrives and it is eloquently worded and persuasive as all hell......we must bring it to the forefront for all to read. The Avenger-in-Chief does not necessarily agree with the rationale of the Ombudsvenger but that is OK, because we, despite our URL address, are actually tolerant and encourage dissent.

The Ombudsvenger also negotiates a path of incomplete information....which is to say he does not know the credo of Tortured San Diego Sports Fan. What is our 1st Pillar of Faith as a TSDSF and what is the Experience like? A Statement of Faith will be forthcoming....until then enjoy the world view of our Ombudsmen.....

(Our Ombudsmen?)

"The Tortured San Diego Sports Fan"...does such a creature exist?

Aside of course, from the indefatigable avenger-in-chief, (in fact a son of the Mid-West for those not in the know), the typical San Diego fan sees their team’s disintegration not so much as the disappointment of the year, but simply as a “bummer…dude…”

And who can blame them? With a baseball club whose team-building strategy is to develop young players, then trade them just as they enter their prime for overpriced and washed-up veterans, and a perennially underachieving NFL team whose greatest games are the ones that they “almost won”, who wouldn’t rather check out the swell instead?

No, I’m afraid that the Tortured San Diego Sports Fan is an endangered species of the most rare nature. In fact, this Avenger, even after many days afield, has only ever seen five of them in their natural habitat, and three of those from the same troop. Who then, you may ask, belongs to all the asses in the seats of our lovely new Petco, and less lovely retro Murky-Q? My observations point to two sub-species of the T.S.D.S.F.;

1.The Ex-Pat San Diego Sports Fan

AND THE

2.Waves-Are-Flat-Got-Tix-From-My-Company-
Bought-My-Girlfriend-A-Pink-LT-Shirt-
My-Boat’s-In-The-Shop-Desert-Season-Doesn’t-Start-Till-Next-Month
San Diego Sports Fan.

The former sub-set consists primarily of those formerly of the East Coast and the Rust-Belt. You know them well, they’re the chowda-heads, pinstripers, and cubbie-nationals who cheer beside you throughout most of the season, that is, until the real “Home” team pays a visit to the sunny environs of America’s Finest City. Then their true loyalty shines through, and as you walk down 6th ave, you wonder “Where in the hell did all these MassHoles come from?”

The latter sub-set is comprised of natives and transplants alike; their common ground being that they can, and often do, find better things to do with their time. Those fortunate enough to grow from seed in this beautiful and bountiful corner of the world are often instilled with the notion that God’s great outdoors should be enjoyed and explored as often as possible, regardless of whether or not polyester argonauts are pounding the piss out of each other in Mission Valley 8 Sundays a year. Those that move here often do so to join the ranks of those sunshine and adventure lovers, and rarely for the pleasure of donning the powder blue.

So as the Chargers begin their eminent slide into the second half of the season, take heart San Diego..not in our chances, or even next year..but in the knowledge that there’s a new swell pushing in from the North-West this weekend. Mahalo!

-The Ombudsvenger